


Christmas in The Cabin

by SuperWhoAvengeTrekLock



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Destiel - Freeform, Fighting, Fluff, M/M, Sabriel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-04
Updated: 2014-03-19
Packaged: 2018-01-03 10:18:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1069320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperWhoAvengeTrekLock/pseuds/SuperWhoAvengeTrekLock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Gabriel have been dating for a while and decide that they and their brothers should go away for the week. One thing is wrong; Castiel and Dean hate each other. Can they get along? Will they ruin Christmas? Or will they fall in love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hating Each Other

Dean Winchester walked into the department store, looking for something to buy Sam for christmas. He had no clue what to get him.

He wandered over to the clothes department, wondering what he would like. In all honesty, Dean didn’t want to be here. He wanted to go home. He had just had a long day at the shop but tomorrow would be even longer. The only reason he was here at this moment was because he wasn’t going to have time to pick up something for him after today. The garage was busier than ever this winter and Dean was happy about that seeing as next week, he was closing on friday and going away with Sam, his boyfriend, and his boyfriends brother — who he still hadn't met after almost a year of him and Sam dating— for a week for Christmas. The Novaks, Gabriel’s family, were rather wealthy and had a cabin that they weren’t using this year.

He moved out of the department, remembering the last t-shirt he bought Sam had been something he never wanted to think about again. So he moved onto electronics. That seemed safe enough. He and Gabriel loved watching movies together and Sam was always complaining about needing new things for his laptop.

Suddenly his phone started to ring, making other people look at him but he was used to it. “Hello,” he answered.

“Whatchya wearin’ big boy?” the voice on the other end said in a mockingly seductive voice.

“Gabe, one day someone is going to pick up my phone for me, they are going to hear that, and they are going to freak.”

Dean could practically hear the smile in his voice. “That’s what I’m counting on.”

The mechanic chuckled. “What do you want, anyway?”

“Right! I called to talk to you about presents for Sam. What are you planning on getting him?”

Dean shrugged even though he knew the man on the other line couldn’t see him. “Man, I don’t know. I am just horrible at buying him things. I know everything about the dude but when I go to buy for him, my mind draws a blank,” he said as he picked up random things and debating on them as he spoke. “I’m in electronics at the moment.”

“That’s wonderful! The things I didn’t get him were a charger for his iPhone, the last two seasons of Doctor Who, and… he want’s this new book. It’s by Veronica Roth… I think it’s called Allegiant.”

Dean contemplated for a moment. “I’ll just get him all four. I owe him for making the advertisement for the garage. I’ll get him one more thing, I’ll just have to look around. Should I buy something for your brother?”

“No. Sam and I already picked out a couple things, put your name on them. But the real question is what are you getting me?”

Dean shook his head. “I already bought your presents. You’re the easiest to shop for,” he said. Dean had already bought him a whole new pile of books and a large assortment of candy. That was really all the man ever asked for. Gabe’s brother and Sam coordinated which books to buy and then Sam coordinated with Dean. It was really simple. All he had to do was go to the ‘New Releases’ section, stretch his hand as wide as it would go, and then pay for them. That was all it took. Gabe read everything.

“Damn. Oh! I know what you could get him! Sam wanted a new stereo. I was going to wait until Valentine’s day but you can get it now.”

“Gabe, sometimes I love you because that is perfect! I gotta go, I’ll talk to you later,” he said as he picked out a stereo.

Gabe chuckled and said his goodbye, hanging up the phone. Dean got the last few remaining things he needed to get and headed to the cash registers.

  
  


Castiel Novak had his arms crossed, his eyes flicking back and forth, trying to decide between two different products that seemed to be exactly the same but in reality were, apparently— according to the clerk—completely different. He sighed in frustration. He didn’t see the difference between the printers except for the fact that the one to his left was labeled back and the one to his right was labeled shadow.

He sighed again, giving up. He pulled out his phone and called Sam. “Hey, Castiel. What’s up?”

“You told me Gabe wanted a new printer for christmas right?”

“Yeah?”

“Well my brother is about to get nothing! I have no clue which printer is good and which isn’t I asked one clerk to point me in the direction of what he thought was the best and told me they were basically the same. Then another told me that they were completely different!” He said, getting louder and louder as he went, making people in the aisle look his way.

Sam chuckled. “Calm down, Cas, it’s gonna be fine, just take a deep breath.”

The professor did as he was told, still receiving strange looks.

“You good?”

“I think so. But I still need help!”

“Okay, read me the names of the printers.” Cas once again did as he was told, reading a long slew of letters and numbers on each of them. “You wanna get the Brother. It’s all around better.”

Castiel gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Sam. While I have you on the phone, should I get your brother anything?”

“Nah. Don’t worry about it. Gabe and I picked out some stuff for you to give to him.”

Castiel’s shoulders sagged. “My brother doesn’t deserve you,” he said, earning him a chuckle from the man on the other end. “So is there anything else I should get him?” he asked as he made his way to the checkout any way, sure that he got everything. If he needed anything else, he would come back sometime next week.

“Well make sure that under no circumstances do you buy him a diamond engagement ring. I got that covered.”

Castiel gasped, scaring the cashier for a moment before he mouthed a sorry. “You didn’t? Oh this is so exciting. How are you going to do it?” he asked as he handed the cashier money and walked away, bringing his carriage with him.

“I have no idea at the moment.”

“You should put it in a piece of chocolate or put it in a hard candy and make him work for it.” Cas smiled to himself at the statement while putting his things in the trunk of the car and put his carriage away.

Sam suddenly doubled over in laughter. “You and my brother said the same exact thing.”

Castiel chuckled. “That’s awesome. Your brother sounds cool.”

Castiel started his car, wanting to get out of the parking lot as fast as he could. He had art to grade and he should have done it before he went shopping but he just couldn’t concentrate.

He looked over his shoulder and saw that nothing was coming and started to back out.

“Yeah. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

Suddenly a black car came out of nowhere. Cas’ eyes blew wide and he tried to stop before he came in contact but it was too late. Castiel jerked forward as metal came in contact with metal, making a crunching sound.

“Uh… Sam, I’m going to have to call you back,” he said as he ended the call.

 

“Look, the card is fine, it’s your machine,” Dean said, getting angry at the cashier.

“Sir, the machine is fine–”

“Well I’m telling you it’s not. My credit card is payed for and there’s nothing wrong with it. So either type in my card number or take me to a different machine.”

“I can’t do that, sir. I would have to close my register–”

“Then take my card and type in the number.”

Dean shoved the card at the cashier. This was ridiculous. They had been having the same conversation for the past ten minutes and Dean was getting tired of it.

The cashier took the card and typed the number in, Dean noticing that he missed a number.

“Try it one more time,” Dean said. “And this time type it really slow.”

The kid nodded one more time and the machine dinged, starting to print up the receipt.

“I-I’m really sorry for the hassle Mr…” he trailed off looking at the card. “Winchester. I’m really sorry.”

“Whatever,” Dean said as he put his bags back in the cart. Usually he was nice to these guys. They had horrible jobs and he knew what that was like, he used to work at a place like this, he knew about the assholes that would come in daily. But that kid just seemed like he had just finished smoking a blunt outside. He was just stupid and to top it off, his machine was busted.

He shook his head as he put away the carriage and deposited the bags in the car. He just wanted to go home, have a beer and forget about this mess.

Dean started his car and smiled at the sound of his baby purring to life. He loved it, nothing sounded better.

He smiled as he backed out, excited to get home.

He drove forward through the aisle of the parking lot when suddenly a car started backing out. He moved to slam on his breaks but it was too late and the classic camaro hit Dean’s Impala with a sickening crunch.

Dean seethed. He parked the car and got out, the man in the other car doing the same.

  
  


“Aw, you gotta be kidding me! First my card and now _this_ ,” he said

Castiel gasped as he saw that the damage was mostly to the other man’s car. “I am so sorry–”

“Save it! I had the right away! You just fucking pulled out! Look what you did to my car.”

Cas’ face fell from apologetic to angry. “You hit me! I don’t even know why I felt sorry! It couldn’t have happened to a better asshole!” he said as he pointed at the man, his eyes squinting in anger.

At first he did feel sorry. He hadn’t seen him coming because of the truck that was parked next to him. He had hoped that anyone that was coming would have seen him backing out and would have the common courtesy to stop and let him go but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“Me!?” Dean yelled, getting closer to the man, his hands going in every direction as he talked. “You weren’t watching where you were going!”

Dean looked the man up and down. He was wearing a trenchcoat and what looked to be a suit underneath it. He had really dark hair, almost so dark that at first glance you wouldn’t be able to tell if it was black or brown. But now that the mechanic was closer to him, he could see that it was just a dark brown. Not to mention the beautiful blue eyes that the man had.

Dean had to admit that if this guy had been anyone else, he probably would have hit on him. He was exactly his type. Except for the fact that he was a giant dick and he hurt his baby.

“Well I’m sorry I didn’t see you through the giant truck in my way!”

Castiel couldn’t help but notice the beautiful green eyes that the man had. If this was any other situation, Castiel might have asked for his phone number or if he swung his way but he refrained. And really, it wasn’t that hard seeing how this man just crashed into the car he had rebuilt from the ground up.

“You know what, screw you!”

“Same to you!” Cas said as they parted. “Asshole,” he muttered, getting in his car.

“Dick,” Dean muttered.

Castiel watched as the man got in his car, spinning his tires to get away from the scene as fast as possible.

 


	2. I Know You

"Yeah! He just fucking comes out of nowhere and hits baby! I had to work on her all day at the shop on Thursday."

It was Friday the twentieth now. Today was the day that the day they were starting their week long Christmas vacation; the Winchesters and the Novak's.

"I'm sorry, Dean. But she made it didn't she?" Sam said as his eyes flicked back and forth from him and the road.

Dean nodded from the passenger seat. "Yeah but that is so not the point."

Sam chuckled, trying to watch the road as best as he could. The only reason they were taking Sam's car was because it was bigger and they needed the space for the presents and their bags.

"Well, when we get to the cabin, you can tell Gabe and Castiel all about it."

"Castiel... That's an odd name. Unique."

Sam smiled. "We all know how much Dean loves people who are unique."

Dean's eyes squinted in thought as he looked at his brother. Sam was up to something. It took a moment before it dawned on him.

"Oh my god!"

"What?"

"You're tryin' to set me up with Gabe's brother!"

"What?!" Sam asked defensively.

Dean just gave him the look that told him he knew and there was no use hiding it.

"It was Gabe's idea."

Dean tilted his head and crossed his arms, intensifying the look.

Sam sighed. "Okay, okay. It was both our ideas."

Dean rolled his eyes. "I appreciate the gesture Sammy but I don't need your help to find someone. I can do it all on my own."

"I know. It's just that you haven't been with anyone in a while and neither has he and you and him are so much alike that we figured you two would make a good fit."

Dean chuckled. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate what Sam was trying to do because he did. It had been a couple years since he had an actual relationship. The last one he had didn't end well. After that he had just thrown himself into his life at the garage that soon, he didn't have time for one.

"So is this what this week is really all about? You think that me and this Casteel are going to meet and fall instantly in love like your chick-flicks."

Sam smiled at the statement. "His name is Castiel. And no, of course we don't expect that we just thought at the very least you two would make good friend. I mean, you both like old cars, you both drive cars from the sixties that you rebuilt, you both have a thing for classic rock, you both have a thing for action movies..." He trailed off, listing things off on his fingers. He shrugged. "We just figured you guys would hit it off."

The mechanic just smiled as he shook his head. "So what happens if we don't? I get to spend a week with someone I can't stand?"

In all reality, the person that Sam was describing sounded like someone he might actually be interested in getting to know.

It was Sam's turn to roll his eyes. "I doubt that will happen."

  
  


"Gabriel!" Castiel yelled, interrupting the man in the middle of talking.

The blonde looked at him, an appalled expression on his face, before looking back to the road. "What?"

"I don't want to hear about you and Sam's sex life! Really. Please. Stop. Sharing," he begged.

Gabriel gaped at his brother, all the while trying to watch the road. "I thought you liked it when I shared with you."

Cas rolled his eyes. "No. You like to share with me! Sam and I both hate it. Keep what you do with Sam in the bedroom; in the bedroom," Castiel said exasperatedly.

It was almost an hour and a half drive from where they lived in town to where the cabin was located in the mountains. And for the last hour, all Gabe talked about was his and Sam's sex life. How frequently they had sex, who topped, and so on. Cas had just interrupted Gabriel before he could tell him who did the better strip tease.

Gabe sighed. "Fine. I will stop. What would you like to talk about?"

Cas sighed triumphantly. "Just anything but that."

Gabe smiled. "How about we talk about the new boyfriend you're going to be getting?"

The art professor rolled his eyes. He had just been informed that not only was this a "week of Christmas fun," it was also a ploy to get him and Sam's brother together.

"I wouldn't go that far. I haven't even met him yet. I have no idea if I'll like him."

"Trust me! You two will hit it off. And if he happens to not be your type, you'll make good friends."

The car was quiet as Cas thought for a moment. He wasn't completely mad about the set up thing. He hadn't been with anyone since he started teaching at the university which was... three years ago.

"Are you even sure he's gay."

Gabriel shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he's bi. When he was younger he leaned towards women. But Sam said as he got older he favored men. Except the last relationship he got out of didn't end well so he threw himself into his job. Hasn't been in any relationships since I've been with Sam."

Castiel nodded. He could understand that. There was nothing wrong with wanting to do well at your job and especially for this Dean guy if he owned his own business. The professor couldn't help but silently commend him on that feat.

"So why are you setting me up again?"

Gabriel smiled lightly. Cas was getting suspicious of how Gabe was acting. He wondered why he was acting so calm. Then a realization hit him.

"Oh my— he doesn't know, does he!?"

Gabriel chuckled nervously, not taking his eyes off the road. "I don't know what—"

"Save it, I can tell when you're bullshitting me. This guy, this Don. He doesn't know that you two are setting us up. He's clueless and you're having me go in there knowing everything!"

Gabriel sighed. "His name is Dean. And no, when Sam and I left the house, Dean didn't know. I suppose my moose could have told him while they were on their way but I don't know."

"You two— I swear to god. What did you expect? That we would lock eyes, instantly fall in love and run off into the sunset like your ridiculous movies?"

Gabe rolled his eyes. "Well, duh! You two are perfect for each other! I suspect you'll run off at some point in the day, who cares if it’s sunset."

  


"It's nice," Dean said as they pulled up to the cabin.

Sam smiled. "You should see the inside. Even the basements furnished."

Dean rolled his eyes as the words brought back memories. "Don't tell dad that or he'll—

"Try to do an inspection," the brothers said at the same time, making them both laugh.

John Winchester was a carpenter who swore up and down that he was the best. If somewhere was furnished or carpeted, he found some reason to complain about it and say how much of a better job he would have done. It was something the boys grew up on.

Sam fished the keys out of his pocket while Dean looked around the grounds. It was huge, which was to be expected. He was surprised that the cabin didn't have a three car garage like their mansion. He tried not to think about the cold as he waited for Sam.

"Dean," Sam said and gestured for him to follow him inside.

The brother did as he was told and stepped across the threshold of the cabin, both of them wiping their feet on the provided mat before they went anywhere else. His eyes were immediately met with maple wood that was apparently the entire house. They were in a very small parlor. Directly in front of him, along the right wall was the stairs. To his right, before the stairs was a threshold that crossed into another room.

Dean peered around the corner to see a living room. The back of the black sectional faced him and a love seat, that was angled so that it faced the far left wall adjoined it on the right. An extremely large television rested on the wall in front of this setup.

“Surround sound in there,” Sam said.

Dean pursed his lips and nodded as he inspected the whole room from the threshold; his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket.

Dean turned and followed Sam into the next room which was the kitchen the fridge was immediately to his right. There was an island in the middle of the large kitchen. The stove top was glass and it was built into the granite counter of the island. The sink was directly across from it on the other counter. The cabinets above the counter to his left, as well as the cabinets of the island, were all the same color as the floors. The rest of the counter wrapped around the corner of the room and was littered with various appliances.

“Obviously this is the kitchen,” Sam said and then wandered passed Dean and down the hallway that was pocketed next to the stairs.

Dean followed him all the way to the back of the house. There he found a very large dining room. The table was long and sat about eight comfortably but the table had sections which meant you could take away or add to make the table bigger or smaller, depending on how many people would be sitting there. On the right wall, a china cabinet sat with beautiful crystal glasses and china plates. On the right wall was a door that probably lead back to the kitchen.

There was a sudden sound that came from the front of the house. Dean looked at his brother who waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s probably just Gabe and Cas,” he said and Dean heard footsteps from above and Dean nodded.

“And that’s pretty much the tour. The rooms are upstairs. Your room is on the right, Cas’ is on the left and mine and Gabe’s are at the end of the hallway. And the bathroom is the second room on the right. There’s a door in the living room that leads to the basement. I think Gabe said something about a pool table.”

Dean smiled. “See you in a week,” he said as he moved toward the living room.

Sam chuckled and grabbed him by the shoulders. “You can play after we get the bags out of the car,”

Dean sighed but lead the way to the car anyway.

  


“They beat us here! Dammit. That means I owe Sam ten bucks.”

Cas chuckled at the statement and got out of the car. He and Sam always made bets. Sometimes they were friendly and sometimes they were actually worth something. It was funny watching them do it because the two could get very competitive but they would always kiss it out in the end.

Castiel emptied the trunk as he looked around. He missed this cabin. When he and Gabriel were growing up, their mom and dad would take them here every Christmas. It was a tradition they didn’t like breaking for the world. Cas smiled at the memories. He remembered one Christmas Gabe fell on a patch of ice and they had to rush him to the ER in town because he had a concussion.

Cas moved up the stairs of the house and into the bedroom on the left; the one he had always had as a kid. He didn’t know this Dean person but he hoped he didn’t mind. There wasn’t a difference in the size of rooms but this one was special to him.

He put his things back and looked around the room. The full sized bed was in the right corner, freshly made. He smiled at that because it meant that Sam had come here beforehand and set everything up. He really was too good for Gabriel.

He started putting clothes away and he set his laptop up on the desk when Gabe called him.

“Cas! Come meet Dean!”

Cas sighed and then chuckled at his brother. He was such a child.

 

Dean trudged inside with their things, wanting to get out of the cold as fast as possible, Sam coming in behind him with more things.

“That’s everything,” Sam said as he closed the door to the cabin.

Gabriel smiled seductively. “C’mere,” the cook beckoned.

Sam smiled as the smaller man wrapped his arms around his neck and stood on the tip of his toes to kiss the taller one.

“I missed you,” he mumbled against Sam’s lips.

The lawyer chuckled. “I missed you too,”

Dean smiled at their happiness before looking down at his phone, receiving a text message from somewhere. He opened the long text message from his best friend Jo and saw that she was wishing him good luck on his weekend with Gabriel. He couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“And this, Dean is my wonderful brother Castiel,” he said.

 

Everything from those words happened in slow motion, it seemed.

Cas came down the stairs, seeing the dirty blonde hair the man had on top of his head because he was looking at his phone. The man had broad shoulders and long legs. And from what Cas heard when he was coming down the stairs, he had a great laugh. Castiel liked that. Of course, when he looked up, it was a totally different story.

Dean’s smile was still on his face as he looked up. It took a moment for it to settle in before absolute rage set in, his smile falling to a frown.

“You?!” Dean and Cas shouted in anger.

Castiel’s face scrunched in anger as he came further down the stairs.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Gabriel asked, an eyebrow raised and a waiting look that said he wanted them to explain.

“This is the asshole that scratched my car!” Cas pointed, raising his voice.

“He’s the dick that knocked out baby’s headlight!”

Cas scoffed. “Oh of course you call your car baby you pretentious douchebag.”

Dean’s eyes squinted in anger, moving closer; sizing him up. “Oh screw you! You didn’t have to track down and replace a fort-six year old head light!”

Cas’ squinted as well as he stepped closer. “ _You_ didn’t have to mix an assortment of paints to get an exact color that _technically_ DOESN’T EXIST ON NORMAL PALLETS!”

“Oh boo-hoo! You had to do a little paint job!” he countered, his eyes rolling as he did.

“YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE!” Cas shouted.

“AND YOU’RE A DICK!” Dean yelled back just as loud.

At that moment, both went their separate ways. Dean slammed the door to the basement, heading downstairs and Cas stomped up to the second floor to his room and slammed his door when he got there.

Sam and Gabe turned to each other, eyes still blown wide.

“Well… That went well,” Sam muttered.

 

Dean and Cas had decided to stay.

Dean grumbled to himself as he played pool by himself, bettering his angles and reacquainting himself with it. He hadn’t played pool in so long that he was really rusty.

While he was entertaining himself with the pool table, he was pissed at Sam. It wasn’t that his little brother was forcing him to stay. No, instead, he brought out the puppy dog eyes and started begging him not to leave and that it would ruin his Christmas if he left. And Dean wanted to. He wanted to pack up his things and just leave but at the same time, he wanted to stay for Sam and Gabe’s sake. And Dean could never say no to the puppy dog eyes.

Dean couldn’t believe the nerve of that guy! He was the one who hit him! He was lucky he didn’t demand his license plate number and car insurance information!

And whilst Dean grumbled about having to stay here with Gabe’s dick of a brother, Castiel wasn’t too happy to have to stay here with the asshole otherwise known as Sam’s brother.

“I’m doing this for Sam and Gabe,” he repeated over and over like a mantra as he paced back and forth in his room.

“Dean! Cas! Food is here!” both men heard Sam yell. They had decided to get take out the first night in the cabin because it was just easier so that no one had to cook.

Dean and Castiel passed each other on the way to the dining room and they stopped, glaring at each other. Castiel moved to go first when Dean stopped him. “Oh no, I’ll go first. Brains and beauty before–” he cut himself off, giving Castiel a fake once over before making an awful face. “Whatever it is you’ve got going on here.”

Cas’ nose scrunched up, offended as Dean kept walking with a satisfied smile on his face.

They moved into the dining room, taking the seats at the opposite ends of the table, glaring at each other as they reached for a piece of pizza.

Dean noticed that the table had been sized down so that it only sat four. He wondered when he and Gabe might have done it but there was a very large time frame of when it could have happened.

Sam and Gabe said nothing, just watched the scene unfold. After everyone got their food, Gabe gave Sam a look, urging him to say something. Sam cleared his throat. “I want to thank you both for staying. I understand you don’t like each other and I know you are both staying for your brothers.”

“I still hate him.” Cas said, acting childlike.

“And I can’t stand him!”

The two glared across the table at each other.

The awkwardness in the air was palpable. There was a long, pregnant, silence before Sam cleared his throat once again, make all eyes go on him. "So Gabe and I wanted you to know that if you guys really don't want to spend Christmas here, you are free to leave." Nothing was said. "But if you guys can't even ignore each other and are going to continue to fight... Then we have to ask you to leave."

Both looked down at their food, suddenly ashamed by their behavior.

"Dean?"

Dean looked up. "Yeah. I'll try."

Sam nodded and smiles at his brother.

Gabriel looked at his brother. "Cas?"

Castiel nodded solemnly. "I'll try too."

Gabriel smacked his hands together. "Great! So! We have an entire itinerary planned for this week. Tomorrow we are going into town and buying a Christmas tree! So make sure you are ready by about ten o’clock. Sunday we are going to decorate, Monday we have nothing planned, Tuesday we thought we would go ice skating, and Wednesday is Christmas. The rest of the week will just be lazy until Friday when we go back to town."

Dean and Cas grumbled. Neither wanted to spend anymore time with each other than necessary. But obviously it was needed. They nodded, glaring at each other from across the table.

Sam and Gabe looked at each other with wide eyes. This was going to be an interesting holiday.


	3. Things That Are Hard: Me and This Vacation

Castiel grumbled to himself as the alarm on his phone went off; signaling to him that it was nine o'clock and he needed to get up. He grabbed his towel, eyes still crusted over from sleep and trudged to the bathroom. When he got there, he was met with an unhappy sight. 

The door was closed and he could hear the showers running and he could also hear singing. Thinking it was Gabe, he was about to knock on the door when he stopped. 

“ _Rockin’ around the Christmas tree.”_

Castiel stopped and listened, hearing a song that he loved. No That wasn’t Gabe; Gabe was a horrible singer. But this was smooth and the notes were perfect. 

He couldn't tell what was being sung, but he could hear the melody. Cas thought immediately that the voice was beautiful but as soon as he realized who it belonged to, his face scrunched up in anger. 

He rapped loudly on the door. "Hurry up!"

"Hold your horses, princess. I'll be out in a minute.”

Cas heaved an audible sigh. He leaned against the wall to the right of the door. He listened as the water shut off, the man still singing, not afraid to let the entire house to hear him.

If Dean was being honest, he did this on purpose. He had heard Cas get up and he had scooted in the shower. If he wasn't aloud to outright broadcast his hatred for the man, he would do it as discreetly as possible and torture the man all week.

He moved agonizingly slow. He stopped to brush his teeth, humming around his tooth and a smile as he did so.

When he moved out of the room, Cas was leaning against the wall.

Cas was surprised to see what he saw when the man came out. He was wearing only a towel that hung dangerously low on his hips. He adverted his eyes and tried not to think about how good of a body he had. But of course he did. It's always the assholes.

Dean smirked, getting up in his space. See, he told Sam the dude wasn't gay. But Sam hadn't believed him. Didn't he know by now that he was always right?

“It's all yours, princess,” Dean said with a smirk.

Cas turned to look at Dean; their faces so close that their noses were almost touching. His face scrunched in determination. He pushed passed the mechanic. “Don't call me princess, asshole.”

Dean smirked when he slammed the door. Oh this was going to be so much fun.

  
  


Gabe and Sam sat up front, forcing the other two to sit in the back. Both of them were pressed against the doors, wanting to be as far away from each other as possible. 

Sam smiled at Gabe as he held his hand with one hand and kept his other on the wheel. Sam looked to the road, thinking about what he had planned for the week. In all reality, Sam had been ready to marry Gabe about a month after he met him. They were great together and they just clicked. But he hadn’t done anything drastic. He waited the allotted time frame and then some because he figured when was a better time than at Christmas.

Dean played on his phone in the back seat, not paying attention until Gabriel turned, addressing both him and the man next to him.

“Okay! Listen up you two,” he said with a cheery expression. “We are going to get the tree. We don’t want to spend more than fifty and it has to be a tree we _all_ agree on. You think you two can handle that?”

Dean and Cas glared at each other but looked to Gabriel and nodded curtly.                                                                                                                         

* * *

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

“I can’t believe you two!” Gabriel shouted as they made their way into the house. Sam and Dean were carrying the tree inside, followed by Cas, while Gabe came in last, shouting at the pair of idiots. “How do you even manage to get yourselves kicked out from an _outdoor tree shop_?!”

Sam’s head motioned to the side, agreeing with him. It wasn’t easy to get yourself kicked out from an outdoor store, especially one that was only open once a year. But somehow Dean and Cas had managed it. 

First it was the tree’s. While they were quite expensive, they had found one that three of them agreed on. It was just tall enough and it had a good width so that it wouldn’t take up _too_ much space. Everyone agreed… except Cas. 

Sam watched as the man argued with them. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Dean liked it, he would have been fine with it. Gabriel knew it too but he didn’t say anything. And about halfway throughout the argument, Dean figured it out too.

“ _The only reason you don’t like this specific tree is because_ I _happen to like it. You really need to grow up!” Dean had yelled, effectively making a scene and attracting the attention to some of the families who were shopping around them._

“ _It has nothing to do with you!” Cas argued, but he knew it wasn’t true. He had to admit that he was being immature. “I think_ this _tree would be much better. It’s nicer, looks greener, and it’s less expensive.”_

_Gabriel sighed. “Cas, you’re my baby bro, and I love you. But you know as well as I do that two out of three of those things aren’t true. Besides, it’s not like the extra five is going to kill anyone!” he huffed, starting to get mad at his brother._

Everything from then on went down hill. Dean ended up knocking Cas’ tree over and damaging it. Then they had gotten into a screaming match that lead to some pretty colorful language which resulted in them being kicked out after paying for both trees. 

“I am making spaghetti for dinner. I don’t wanna see either of you until then!” He yelled, making the two scoot up the stairs. 

Gabriel didn’t yell. That was one thing you learned from knowing him was that even when he was pissed off or getting in an argument. He and Sam had fought before and even he hadn’t seen Gabe this mad. 

Dean grabbed Cas by the upper arm, spinning him around to face him.

Cas turned, already angry that Dean had the gall to grab him. 

“What’s your problem?!” Dean hissed, not wanting the other two to hear them.

“You’re my problem!” he hissed back as he pried Dean’s fingers off his arm, sizing him up.

The mechanic rolled his eyes. “Oh grow up. Look, neither one of us wants to fucking be near each other. But stop acting like a spoiled brat!” he said before he moved toward his room and closed the door. 

“Ugh!” Cas said as he threw up his arms and went into his own room.

When he closed it, his back hit the door and he slid down it. He was ashamed of himself. A college professor acting like a seven year old just because he didn’t get his way. He didn’t want to admit it, but Dean was right. He was being ridiculous. 

* * *

 

Gabe and Sam traveled to their room. It was still early and he didn’t need to start dinner for a little while.

Gabe rubbed his temples as Sam shut the door.

“I can’t believe those two…” he mumbled, repeating the same sentiment from earlier.

Sam positioned himself behind him. His hands came down to rest on his hips as he planted kisses on his boyfriend’s neck. 

“Mm,” Gabriel moaned. His eyes shut and his head lolled back on Sam’s shoulder to give the man more access. “I don’t know whether you’re trying to make me calm down or get in my pants. But whatever you’re doing; it’s working,” he said lazily.

Sam chuckled. “A little bit of both, babe. You forget that I’m _always_ trying to get in your pants.”

Gabe laughed at that as he turned, put his arms around his neck, and met the man halfway to kiss him. “You don’t need to try, Winchester,” he said with a laugh.

But Sam knew that. He smiled and kissed his long term boyfriend, moaning as he did so. You wouldn’t think it to look at Gabriel, but he was a phenomenal kisser. If you were straight, and had been kissed by Gabriel, he would make you question your sexuality. 

Sam smiled into the kiss as Gabriel began to ease him back on the bed. He hoped these walls were sound proofed like Gabe had promised. 

Gabriel's hands slipped into the younger Winchester's back pockets, gripping the round bubbles of his ass, something he loved doing. He smiled into the kiss as Sam started just a bit. Gabriel chuckled and backed up to look at the man of his dreams. He still remembered the day they met, a day he's likely to never forget. Then again, how do you forget being mostly naked on a platform, letting people draw you, and locking eyes with a beautiful giant across the room?

Gabriel giggled to himself, thinking about that.

"What's so funny?"

He chuckled again. "I was just thinking about the say we met. And I though 'How could I forget about being mostly naked on a platform, letting people draw me, and locking eyes with a beautiful giant?'"

Sam laughed at him, pecking him on the cheek as he did so. Gabriel was funny like that. He often spoke exactly what he was thinking. But Sam didn't mind. It was one of the reason's he fell in love with him. 

"That was the day I knew we were going to be together."

Sam's eyesbrows raised. "Oh really?"

"Mhmm. I knew we would be together for the rest of forever. That and the second time we met, you told me I made orgasmic cookies. I knew that If I could get you to fall in love with my cooking, you could fall in love with me. Plus I never get tired of you telling me how good my food tastes."

"So you keep me for compliments?" Sam asked playfully as they made their way to the bed. His face softened as he looked at his boyfriend. "To be honest, I was in love with you the moment I met you. And then you brought me those cookies. And– God, I wanted to marry you and make you cook for me every single day."

Gabriel laughed, throwing his head back as he did so. "Why don't you and I take a shower?"

Sam smiled, eyeing the bathroom that adjoined their room. "C'mon babe," he said as they reaced towards the bathroom

* * *

 

Dean chanced going out of his room. He was bored out of his mind and there was only so much his laptop could do when he was twisting himself in odd positions just to get comfortable to use the thing. He decided that he wanted to watch a movie, a Christmas movie to be exact and that wasn’t happening on his laptop.

He noticed that Sam and Gabriel hadn’t come out of their room, and figuring they wouldn’t be out for a while, he slunk down the stairs as quietly as possible.

Castiel sat in his room while this happened. He typed furiously on his laptop, updating the blog that he kept. He had just finished typing his most recent entry when, already, he was getting responses back on his most recent post.

The post had been about his current living situations. He hated to say it, but a lot of it had been about Dean. He needed to vent and this was the one place where no one knew who he was and he could just complain about what he needed to.

He scrolled down, reading the first response. 

‘ _Sounds like you’re in love with him ;)’_

Castiel blanched. He most certainly was not. He was about to type a reply to the anonymous person when his computer dinged twice more, saying that he had two more responses. 

‘ _I think you guys should try and get to know each other. You might hate him just a little less, if you know what I mean.’_

Cas gaped at the comment. He certainly did know what that person meant and he _didn’t_ want to think about it. He scrolled down to the next comment, praying it would be someone who agreed with him. 

‘ _He sounds like a total tool,’_  the person wrote and Castiel sighed in relief, almost forgetting to read the rest. ‘ _But I know for a fact that men act like tools when they like someone. You should try talking to him, he might surprise you.’_

Castiel closed his laptop suddenly. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. He couldn’t believe people would think like that. People were reading things all wrong. Not everything is about people wanting each other. Dean wasn’t interested, he was an asshole. And Castiel wasn’t interested, he wanted to be as far away from him as possible

He shook his head and looked down at the watch on his wrist. It wasn’t anywhere near dinner and he remembered Gabriel and Sam going by at one point. 

“I need a drink,” he muttered to himself, planning to watch TV when he got down there as well. 

He moved down the stairs and into the kitchen, noticing the TV was on. He grabbed a beer and took a few sips from it before he crept to the living room. He heard singing coming from the TV but that wasn’t the only place it was coming from. 

He saw the back of Dean’s head, knowing it wasn’t Gabe or Sam’s and heard the man singing along with the Christmas special

“ **I’m mister white Christmas, I’m mister snow. I’m mister icicle, I’m mister ten below.”**

Cas put his fist to his mouth to stop him from laughing. 

Dean didn’t even realize he was there. He had been too wrapped up in the movie that he hadn’t heard the man come down the stairs. 

This Christmas special was something that had been on since before he was even born. He remembered they would watch it every Christmas, as a family. It always brought back the best memories for him. 

Cas however wasn’t that big of a fan of it. He moved to the couch and snatched the remote out of Dean’s hand and began to look through the guide. 

Dean spun around, startled at first and then just plain angry. He came around the couch, surprising Cas, and getting in his face. “Hey asshole, I was here first.”

He grabbed for the remote but Cas set his beer down on the table that held pictures behind the couch and moved out of Dean’s reach so that he couldn’t get the remote as he reached for it. 

“Yeah? Well my family owns the place!”

Cas didn’t know why he was acting like this at all. He was a college professor for crying out loud and he was in his thirties. He shouldn’t be acting like a seven year old, but he just couldn’t help it. It was like Dean brought out the worst in him and he didn’t even have to try.

Dean rolled his eyes. This guy was something else. He acted all high and mighty one minute and then he acted like a child the next. He wondered why Gabe and Sam thought that he would make a good fit. They would be horrible for each other. 

“Oh yeah, that’s real mature! You sound like a child!” Dean yelled back.

Dean grabbed for the remote. He hadn’t realized how hard he had slammed into the man until they were going toward the floor. Without thinking, he twisted their bodies in the air, getting the brunt of the fall. He grunted. Why did he always have to be the gentleman?

Cas was surprised by the action but not getting the chance to think about it as it fell out of his hand and skidded across the hardwood floor.

He reached for it but Dean caught him by the stomach and pinned him to the ground. Neither tried to think about the position they were in, Dean straddled over Cas’ hips. 

“You are such a child!” Dean almost repeated. “You didn’t get your way so throw a tantrum!”

Cas growled and flipped them, their arms grasping at each other; fighting. But Cas knew he was right. He has been right all along and nothing was going to change that. He just hated Dean with such fervor.

“Yeah? Well you’re an asshole!”

Through all the squirming and fidgeting, Dean felt the friction they were causing. Dean didn’t think he knew but their clothed cocks were rubbing together. Dean’s body betraying him and growing hard, not being able to believe this could be happening at a time like this, with a guy like this. 

He willed himself to try and think of anything else but with the man bearing his body down while Dean tried to buck him off, it was proving to be unhelpful.

Unbeknownst to Dean, Cas was feeling the same. The professor was trying not to think about it as he tried to win the fight between himself and the man beneath him. 

It wasn’t until they moved just slightly that their erections rubbed against each others legs. 

“Oh my god– ARE YOU HARD?!” They both shouted. 

Dean threw Castiel off of him, the shorter man willing to go. 

Both were wearing the same blush as they took off in separate directions, Cas to the kitchen and Dean to his room. 


	4. Rivals and Revelations

Dean was in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. His eyes were wide. He couldn’t believe what had happened down stairs. He shook his head, trying not to think about it; something he had been doing for the past few hours. Okay. That was an understatement because it was now ten o’clock and he hadn’t been out of his room since that incident.

He skipped dinner, not knowing how to act around Castiel after that whole thing. 

He thought about the man. He had nice eyes. Okay, Dean wasn’t going to lie: he had beautiful eyes. The kind of eyes that you could stare into for hours and never get tired of. The kind of blue that rivaled the color of the sky, the ocean and sapphires combined. And then there was the rest of him. He was handsome and exactly what Dean looked for in a guy; dominant and submissive at the same time or so he guessed from the vibe he was giving off.

But no matter how he spun the fact that the man was good looking, he was still a jerk and he could never like him.

Suddenly his phone rang, singing an AC/DC song. He opened it without looking.

“You sent me an urgent message?” asked the smooth and all knowing voice on the other end.

Dean sighed in relief but he knew that she was smiling. “Oh, thank god, Jo. I need to talk to you.”

She chuckled a bit. “I read that from all the exclamations in the message you sent me and then the shouting in the _voice mail_ you left me.”

Dean had to laugh at that. Jo was his rock. Really, she was everyone’s. When he had come out, he had told her first, the same with Sam. But where as everyone got attached to someone else and became part of a couple, having someone else to talk to, Dean had only ever had Jo. She helped him get through a lot. 

“Now you weren’t really clear in your message. You shouted something about ‘erections’ and really, that’s all I heard.”

The mechanic rolled his eyes and blushed at the same time. “Of course that’s all you heard.”

“Just tell me what happened.”

Dean began talking, starting from the very beginning when Castiel hit his car. He told the story from his side, not leaving out any details. “And we were fighting and then all of a sudden… I don’t know. My body just like… _liked it_ and we were both hard… I _think_. I thought I felt it but I could be wrong.”

Jo laughed from the other end. Man, Dean was head over heels for this guy and he didn’t even know it. She doesn’t think the mechanic noticed that when he described the other man, he had gone on a five minute rant-slash-description of his blue eyes; she had timed it. Dean had a tendency to do things like this. If he liked someone, he would go on and on about how wrong they were for him. Though, Jo understood because they hit each others cars and she might crush anyone who hit her mustang. But neither of them did long term damage. 

“Sounds like you really like this guy,” she muttered without thinking. 

His eyes widened and he blanched as he sat up. He was going to get up but he immediately went back under the blankets. He kept forgetting how cold it was up here. “Jo, have you not been _listening—”_

She scoffed. “Oh I’ve been listening alright. What I don’t think you’ve realized yet is that I have been listening for _years._ I know you better than Sam does, Dean Winchester and when it comes to things like this, I know you better than yourself. You like him. You like him and you’re afraid to admit it because not only was this supposed to be a setup–that you’re refusing to let happen–but this guy doesn’t seem to like you a whole lot so you’re determined to not make the first move.”

“That’s not it at all—” Dean stuttered but was cut off. 

“And let’s not forget the fact that this guy could be something special. I think you should give him a chance. He might surprise you.”

Dean sighed at the blonde on the other line. What he hated to admit was that she was right. He could see himself being with a guy like Castiel if they didn’t bring out the worst in each other. But there was no way he was not going to be the one to initiate it. 

“Alright, Jo. It’s almost breakfast time. I’m going to go and eat whatever cavity inducing thing Gabriel has cooked this morning.”

“Alright. Good luck.”

* * *

  
  


_Castiel sat on the couch in the living room; reading a book. It was one he had wanted to read for quite sometime and it was quiet. He was curled up, back on the armrest of the couch._

_Sam and Gabriel were upstairs, not that he wanted to think about what they were doing. And Dean was downstairs, probably playing pool._

_He heard the creaking of the stairs behind him and noticed that Dean was coming up them. He payed no attention and tried extra hard to read the book. This vacation would be over in just a few days and they could go back to never seeing each other except on holidays._

_Cas started when he felt arms wrap around his neck, hands hanging dangerously close to his crotch, while a head rested atop his own. Immediately, he knew who it was._

“ _D-Dean…” he stammered, not knowing what to do in the situation the hunter had put him in. “W-what are you doing?”_

 _Dean chuckled low in his throat and if that wasn’t the most enticing thing he had ever heard, he didn’t know what was. He felt Dean’s lips nip at his ear lobe. He wanted to swat the man away and yell at him for doing such things. He wanted to. He really did. There was a part of him that_ really _wanted to. But there was another part, the one that won, that let him go on doing as he pleased._

“ _Mm. I’m tired of playing pool all by myself. Why don’t we play a game I think you’ll like?” he whispered and trailed his lips down, attacking his neck._

_Castiel didn’t know what came over him but he tilted his head to the side to allow him more access. He blushed at the huskiness of the mans voice and the suggestiveness of his words and actions._

_Dean’s hands began to rub his abdomen and his chest, making his cock strain against the fabric of his jeans._

“ _I-I thought y-you hate me…” he stuttered._

_Dean smiled as he came around. One of his knees inserted itself between his legs, prying them open just a little, while the other hung off the couch haphazardly. The mechanic pried the book out of his hand and threw it on the table. “I did,” he said as he came closer and nuzzled his face into his neck. Castiel almost didn’t catch the way he breathed in deeply. “But how can I resist you?”_

_His knee prodded upwards, kneading Castiel’s member threw his jeans as Dean stayed hovering above him, his arms holding him up. Castiel threw his head back, catching the feral smirk that played on Dean’s lips._

_He hadn’t been touched like this by someone else in so long that he felt like he was ready to come right then and there._

“ _You’re so pretty when you moan for me,” he said as his lips ghosted over Cas’. He leaned in, going in for a kiss._

Castiel shot out of bed, panting as he did so. His vision was still blurry. He looked around his room, making sure he was still where he fell asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief as he fell back on the bed. 

He rubbed at his tired eyes, his mind reeling. He didn't even know why he was having such thoughts. He swallowed hard, trying to bat the thought away. His mind just needed to stop. He didn’t even like this guy. 

Sure Dean was handsome. He had pretty green eyes, and he was built so that he had muscle but not so much that it looked wrong or gross. He would be exactly his type. If he wasn’t an asshole.

Cas heaved a sigh as he got out of the bed, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. It wasn’t until then that he realized that he had an erection that was actually quite painful.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” he whispered to himself. 

This was the second time he got an erection while he was here and both times were because of Dean. It would be one thing if he liked the guy… but he didn’t! He couldn’t and he wouldn’t!

  
  


Sam had his back to the armrest of the couch and Gabriel in between his legs. They were running their hands along each others bodies like they always did. It wasn’t sexual as much as it was calming to have someone there.

Gabe giggled as Sam nipped at his ear. 

“Do you think it was because I yelled at them that they never came down for dinner?” Gabe asked suddenly.

Sam shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. “No. And even if it was, they deserved it, they were acting like children.”

Gabriel looked back at Sam. “I think we could still get them together…” he trailed off, already formulating a plan.

Sam scoffed, laughing before looking down at the man in his lap. “Oh, God, you’re serious. Gabe, they hate each other. They got into a fight about a _tree_! Not many people can do that!”

Gabe laughed, his eyes closing as he did so. When he opened them, he looked up at Sam. “They hate each other for something stupid. When Dean was telling me the story, he was having a bad time to begin with and something about the cashier being a stoned idiot and Cas just topped off a bad mood. That car is his pride and joy. But he once _smashed_ it up, just to fix it again! He loves fixing it, so a broken headlight is no problem. And you and I _both_ know that he had endless parts for that car on hand and ready to go.”

Sam nodded. That was true. Anytime Dean was online looking at parts and he saw something for his car at a reasonable price, he would snag it before anyone else could. Dean probably had a whole box of headlights.

“And Cas get’s his ‘TARDIS’ blue paint from mixing the colors. He _loves_ doing it. He is an art professor for crying out loud. Dean exploded at him, he exploded back, and now both of them are too damn stubborn to admit that they need to apologize to one another.”

Sam nodded once again. He was often the accomplice to his antics. He would listen and not tell anybody. That’s what you did for the people you love. “So what is the plan you have concocting in that beautiful head of yours?” Sam half cooed.

And the blonde smiled at the compliment. And the way he said it; with such love. “I figure if we can get them to agree on something, they might just stop acting like great big bags of dicks to each other.”

Just then, they quieted as they hear someone. Dean moved down the stairs in a daze. He couldn’t stay away from Castiel forever, they were living in the same house for the week. He couldn’t avoid him completely. But he badly wanted to. 

He looked over to the happy couple in the couch. Part of him was jealous, the other part was relieved.

“Morning, Dean,” Gabriel said with just a bit too much enthusiasm. 

Dean grumbled back at him and went to the kitchen. 

Dean wasn't a morning person. He never had been and he never would be. It definitely wasn’t a good morning after the night he had just had. He had barely slept and he wasn’t going to be in the mood to talk to anyone before he got some coffee in his system. So of course, the first thing Gabe did was shout at him from the other room.

“Why didn’t you come down for dinner last night?”

He groaned as he poured his cup of coffee, quickly pouring in some milk and sugar to get it to taste just right. He gave a satisfied moan as he sipped at the warm substance. He sat down in the chair, cradling his coffee. 

He looked up and saw Sam and Gabe staring at him, expectantly. It was then that he realized Gabe had asked him a question. 

“I–uh… I wasn’t hungry,” he replied unconvincingly. 

Sam smiled knowingly. His brother was lying and that was clear. “It’s funny. It seemed like both you _and_ Cas weren’t hungry.”

Dean started a bit at the new information. He passed it off as a cough and sipped at his coffee again. So Cas hadn’t come down either? So he wasn’t the only one that knew things would be even more awkward now. 

“Whatever,” Dean said, as if he didn’t care. Which as of right now, he didn’t. He couldn’t. He needed to stay focused and not think about the dark-haired epitome of sex with his—

Dean cleared his throat, snapping himself out of his own thoughts, earning a look from the two men sitting on the couch. 

“Easy on the coffee, Dean. It’d be such a shame if you were to drown in it,” he heard from across the room. 

He looked up to see Cas standing at the threshold of the living room, arms crossed and hip jutted to the side. His hair was tousled and it looked like someone had been running their fingers through it all night. His blue eyes were impossibly bright this morning or maybe it was just the way the light was catching them out of the corner of his eye.

He squinted, doing the only thing he could muster; he retaliated. “Alright, you know what; blow me, Cas!”

Gabe sputtered in laughter at the come back. Most of them had been expecting a come back on the way he looked, or talked, or something similar in the way that Cas had talked to him. What they weren’t expecting was the crude, sexual, suggestion made by the mechanic. 

Dean was surprised himself. He hadn’t expected himself to say that. He expected a ‘fuck you’ or a ‘go fuck yourself’ to fall out of his mouth, instead he said _that_. 

Cas looked at him, appalled and angry. He blew a breath of air out in anger and headed to the kitchen, to do what Dean didn’t care.

 

* * *

  
  


“Gabe, the light’s go on first,” Cas said as he began to string them around the Christmas tree. Castiel liked to think of himself as an expert in this field. No matter what, he decorated a tree every year. He knew what to and what not to do. Putting the garland on before the lights, was a big fat _no_.

“I’m telling you, little bro, you put the garland on _then_ the light’s. That’s how mom and dad used to do it.”

Cas scoffed. Gabriel was right. Every year, their parents would set up the tree; garland first and then the lights. And every year, Cas would sneak over when everyone else was preoccupied and fix it. They never seemed to notice and if they did, they didn’t bother saying anything or changing their ways. “Yeah, and every year I _fixed_ it so that it would look right!” he said, repeating his thoughts.

Gabriel sucked his teeth and looked over at Sam and Dean who were quietly sitting on the couch, not saying a word. “You two agree with me right?”

“No,” Dean said at the same time Sam simply stated; “I’m staying out of it.”

Gabe glared at Dean, crossing his arms. Gabe wants to make one thing very clear; he’s lying. Sam knows it and that’s the specific reason he is staying quiet. Gabriel knows what order they go on the tree. He used to distract their parents so Cas could fix it. This was all part of his plan.

“You don’t agree with me, Dean?” he asked as if he were offended. 

Dean leaned back with a chuckle. “No. Lights go on first, then the garland, the ornaments, the tinsel if you’re gonna use it, and then the angel.”

Cas’ head popped up at that. He was behind the tree, so no one could see him. That was something that him and Gabe had always fought about. Gabriel preferred a star whereas he always thought it should be an angel that perched atop the tree. He couldn’t believe that Dean was an angel guy… but if he wasn’t mistaken, Sam—

“It’s the star, Dean,” Sam said suddenly.

Cas nodded. He was right. Sam was a star person. No wonder he and Gabriel got along so well. 

“Uh, no. We go through this every year. It’s the angel. Right Gabe?” Dean tried and Cas knew the answer he was going to get. 

Gabriel smiled. Well wasn’t this an added bonus? He didn’t even have to try with this one. “That’s where _you’re_ wrong. It’s a star, not an angel.”

Dean crossed his arms and sat back against the couch. “Great. So I am all alone,” he huffed. 

“Actually; no. Cassie agrees with you on everything, right down to the angel, isn’t that right, Cassie?” Gabe had on a cocky smile and was looking at his brother who was hiding behind the tree. 

Castiel stayed behind the tree. He made a noncommittal noise. Part of him wished that Dean didn’t agree with him so that it would give him one more reason to hate him. But no. Dean just had to agree with him.

Gabriel laughed and looked at Dean. “You would actually be surprised at what you two have in common.”

Cas cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the conversation. “I’m going to go get the ornaments,” he said with a forced smile. 

“I’ll help you,” Sam volunteered.

Cas smiled as them moved to the closet in the hallway. “Thank you, Sam.”

Cas had always thought that if Sam wasn’t his best friends, he would have liked to end up with someone like him. He was sweet, a gentleman, and he was always willing to help.

“My brother isn’t all that bad,” he whispered so that the others couldn’t hear them. “He may have been a jackass in the store parking lot… but he had been having a bad day. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have yelled at you.”

Cas scoffed. “I doubt that,” he muttered. 

Sam grinned at that. “Dean loves that car. But he loves _fixing_ it more than anyone else. I’ve heard both sides of the story. And if you hadn’t of yelled back at him… he would have apologized.” Sam paused. Castiel was about to say something, about how it wasn’t his fault when Sam continued. “Dean does this thing… when he get’s mad he just explodes and he expects it to be okay afterward. That’s… that’s why I think you would be good for Dean. You have a lot of things in common but your personalities… they would balance each other. But I understand why you don’t like him. I just wish things had turned out differently.”

Cas smiled awkwardly. He didn’t know what to say. Sam seemed to understand where he was coming from, but he was still talking Dean up at the same time… Maybe… just maybe he should give him a chance.

That thought didn’t last long. 

* * *

  
  


They were finished decorating the tree when Gabriel brought it out. It was the most ostentatious, tacky, and gaudy tree topper they had ever seen. It was a star, that part was obvious, it flashed a rainbow of colors, spun around like a disco ball, and sang different Christmas songs if you pressed a certain button on the remote it came with. 

“We are not putting that on the tree,” Dean commanded. “It’s hideous.”

“It’s not hideous!” he defended.

Cas scoffed. “It looks like your personality threw up on it,” he voiced as he crossed his arms.

“I think it looks fine. Gabriel likes it,” Sam said. 

The four of them were standing in front of the tree. They had been doing fine. Dean and Cas weren’t throwing insults at each other and Sam and Gabriel were being their usual overly-cuddly selves. That was until Gabriel decided that his tree topper was the one that was going on, end of discussion.

“Sammy, the only reason you agree with him is because you know that if you don’t, there is no way you’re getting laid.”

Sam blushed as Castiel hid a chuckled with a cough. Over the past thirty minutes, it hadn’t been hard to figure out that if their scuffle in the parking lot had never of happened, they would have been fast friends. A little more if Sam and Gabe got their way.

Dean picked up the angel that Cas had brought. Castiel’s eyes widened as he watched strong hands handle the delicate porcelain angel. Part of him had the urge to snatch it from him but the other part thought the sight was just a little sweet, even if he didn’t like the guy. 

“Why can’t you guys like something normal like the beautiful angel Cas brought?” Dean asked, not even realizing what he had just said. You guys wanna put a fuckin’ disco ball on the tree. This is Christmas not a rave.”

None of them felt the need to point out that he had referenced two different dance crazes. They said nothing but that didn’t stop them from thinking about it in their heads.

It was Cas who blanched. His mouth hung open and his eyes widened. He could feel the blush rushing to his cheeks at what Dean had said. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to do that.

Gabriel caught the look. He sighed dramatically. “I suppose that we can put the angel up. Who get’s to put it on?”

Dean looked down at the angel. Sammy had done it so many times when they were kids, it didn’t matter. He handed it to the man with an angel name – so he had looked up the meaning of his name, so what– and spoke. “You should do it. It’s your angel.”

Cas’ mouth snapped shut as he took the angel.

He stepped up on the step ladder he had gotten out previously. Part of him wondered why they had gotten such a tall tree but it was beautiful, even if he had fought over it with Dean. It was a wonderful tree.

The ladder wobbled and he steadied himself. It was old. It had been around since he was a kid. He expected the ricketiness of it. What he hadn’t been expecting was for the step he was standing on to snap beneath his feet.

Castiel fell backwards. He closed his eyes and braced himself for impact. But it never came. He opened his eyes to see Dean looking down at them. He didn’t know why he hadn’t felt his arms catch him, but now that he knew that he was holding, it was like that was all he could feel. Strong arms surrounding him and holding him up. 

A blush crept to his cheeks, the angel still in his hands. 

Dean didn’t know what to say. He just stared at the man in his arms, slowly depositing him on his feet. His arms didn’t leave his middle, their eyes not looking away from each other. 

Dean’s hands were hot on his hip and stomach. 

Gabriel cleared his throat and the two jumped apart like they had been burned.

* * *

  
  


Dinner had gone over fine. Cas and Dean hadn’t spoken to each other, but that wasn’t new. They also hadn’t glared at each other from across the table either, which was progress. Castiel had even laughed at one of Dean’s jokes–which in no way made Dean’s heart flutter.

He was thinking about it when his phone started to ring. Dean looked down at his phone ringing. He rolled his eyes as soon as he saw the name.

“What do you want, Paul?”

“ _Where are you? I told you I wanted to meet with you this weekend?”_

“And I told you to go fuck yourself. We aren’t getting back together and I don’t want to see you.”

“ _I told you I was sorry. It was almost a year ago, Dean. She meant nothing to me.”_

“Yeah, and you mean nothing to me. Don’t call me again.”

Dean hung up the phone and opened his laptop. There had to be some way to block phone numbers on his phone or on his.

There was a knock on his door. He tugged it open with anger. “What?” he growled.

Cas was standing there, a little taken aback by the tone of voice. “I just wanted to say–”

“What? Here to throw more insults at me? Would you like to break something else of mine?”

Cas’ mouth hung open for only seconds until his face set back into one of anger. “I just came to–”

“I don’t care! Go away!” He yelled as he slammed the door. 


	5. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would just like to clarify something. Gabe is not a photographer. He is a chef who owns his own bakery. In the first draft, he was but then I changed it. Something must have gotten mixed up and I'm sorry.

Castiel felt ridiculous. It wasn’t that he had formed this magical new crush on Dean just because he was nice enough for catching him when he was falling. No, that’s not what it was. He had just wanted to thank him for doing so. He thought, that if Dean was as much of an asshole as he thought if he had caught him. He didn’t let him fall. He just thought that maybe he and the mechanic could put aside their differences and get along. Their brothers were about to be engaged, it would be better if they were friends, right?

Well he was dead wrong. 

He should have known that Dean would continue to be an asshole. 

He sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed, grabbing his computer off of the desk. “ _Just a few more days,”_ he whispered to himself. 

He logged onto his computer snuggling himself in for just a moment, to shield himself from the cold, as he opened his blog. Last night he had wrote a review on a piece of art and it seemed that people were responding well to it. Only a few were disagreeing, but that was the way it always was. You can’t make everyone happy. 

But that hadn’t been the only thing he had posted. He had posted another rant about Dean. Castiel didn’t have a lot of friends, he had family. He only had one friend and her name was Anna. She worked across the hall at the university, teaching English, but they didn’t get to see a lot of each other. Their schedules never seemed to coincide with each others. So his blog was all he really had. He didn’t have anyone else to talk to except his loyal followers. 

And some of them were really sticking up for Dean. They were saying things like; ‘ _you must have caught him at a bad time,_ ’  and ‘ _he must have been in a really bad mood._ ’ His personal favorite was: ‘ _he sounded like he really liked you, something must have happened._ ’ 

Castiel scoffed at that. Yeah, he knew exactly what happened: Dean was a dick and that was that. When Dean had caught him… the way he had held him close and the way he had looked him in the eye… he thought maybe they could do this. Put what happened aside and be friends. But Dean didn’t want to take that road. He just wanted to be rude to him. 

He sighed to himself and padded down the stairs, only to find Dean sitting there at the coffee table and drinking his coffee. What Castiel didn’t know was exactly how bad Dean felt about last night. He hadn’t meant to snap at him, he just hadn’t expected Paul to call him and every time he did, he had a hard time controlling his anger. He hadn’t meant to take it on Castiel.

He held up the note that Sam and Gabe had left on the counter. “They went out. Told us not to kill each other.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “No promises.”

Dean would have laughed. If it had been meant as a joke. But it hadn’t been. It was meant to hurt, to wound his ego just a little. And while Dean didn’t usually care what people thought, he couldn’t help but wish they weren’t like this.

“Hey listen–”

“Save it. I don’t wanna hear it,” he said with no malice, just bitterness.

“Cas–”

Castiel slammed his cup down on the granite counter top and Dean flinched at the loud noise. “You don’t have the right to call me that! That’s for people who are _nice_ to me, which you aren’t!”

Dean sighed in frustration. “If you’d just listen–”

“I don’t want to listen, leave me alone!”

Castiel walked away and rounded the corner, Dean hot on his heels.

“Leave me alone, Dean. I don’t want to talk to you.” 

He made a quick decision and moved toward the basement door, hoping to get away from Dean faster. He meant to slam the door but Dean caught it, slamming it behind him. 

“Why won’t you listen to me? I am trying to apologize!”

Cas practically growled. “I don’t care. Move!” he said as he pushed passed him and went for the door. 

He just wanted to be away from Dean. But nothing is ever that easy, is it? 

He jiggled the doorknob, it not budging.

“Uh… Dean… It’s locked…”

"What do you mean it's locked?"

* * *

  
  


“You did what?” Sam asked as they drove down the road. Sam had his right hand in Gabe’s left, a customary position for them while driving. The two were never not touching, it was rare to find them not. It’s not that they were clingy. They were fine with doing things without each other, but they felt better, grounded when they were hand in hand or some form of skin on skin contact.

Gabe giggled. “I was carrying up some presents I put in the basement and the door handle hit the wall, both sides popped right off. It’s old so I’m not surprised.”

Sam laughed at his antics. Only Gabe could manage breaking the doorknob. “Well did you fix it?”

Gabe nodded. “Well… I tried. I’m not very good with tools and I have no clue if I did it right. I hope I did.”

The lawyer squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “I’m sure you did fine.”

* * *

  
  


Castiel rolled his eyes. "Dean, I think even you with your tiny brain can figure out what locked means."

He groaned, frustrated. "Let's just call Sam and Gabe."

Both of them reached for their pockets. It was rare for Castiel to be without his phone as it was connected with his blog. But he had been so lost in thought, he must’ve forgotten to put it in his pocket.

They both looked up at each other and instantly they knew.

Dean groaned again, this time more theatrical. "Could this get any worse?"

"We could both be down with someone we hate. Oh wait..."

Dean shook his head and slid down the wall that faced the pool table while Cas wandered somewhere else.

* * *

  
  


“So what exactly are we doing, Gabe?” They were currently stepping out of the car in the parking lot of the largest store they had in this town.

He grinned. “Leaving the kids at home while we have some us time. I figure they’ll do one of two things. They’ll either realize the sexual tension between them or they’ll kill each other. Either way, I see it as a one way road to a peaceful holiday. That and I wanted to do some last minute decorating,” he answered as he rounded the car and met him on the drivers side.

Sam looked down at the man, not being able to help getting lost in thought. Some people never realized how selfless Gabe was. He would do little things that made a difference. Every Friday, he would gather up all the remaining sweets and take them down to the homeless shelter. He would give away free mini-cupcakes on Mondays to anyone who was a student because anyone who had to be in a classroom for eight hours a day deserved to indulge their sweet tooth. He took snack to the local rec center for the kids. 

And now he was doing all this for Dean and Cas. They didn’t know he was doing it, and probably wouldn’t appreciate it like they should, but he was doing it for them and that was all that mattered. He was so sweet. 

It wasn’t far off to call him lovestruck.

Sam turned them around so that Gabriel was pressed against the car. He looked up at him, confused as to why he had done that. 

“I love you,” Sam breathed as he planted a kiss on his lips. 

Gabriel melted into the kiss, his arms falling around his shoulders as their tongues met, lapping at each other playfully. They had kissed each other thousands of times, but they never got tired of this. 

Sam’s hand dropped to his hip so that his fingers came up just under the hem of his shirt, fingers tickling the skin there, driving Gabe crazy.

The shorter man dug his fingers into Sam’s hair and pulled him in, deepening the kiss and grinding his hips forward.

Sam moaned and pulled away, panting. “Gabe… we’re in public…” he trailed off. He could practically feel the blush on his cheeks as he watched their breaths come out, mingling with each other.

Gabe smiled up at him. It was more of a smirk and he knew Sam loved it. “‘s never stopped us before.”

Sam chuckled and grabbed his hand, untangling their limbs. “C’mon,” he said as he dragged him toward the store. 

* * *

  
  


An hour passed in silence before Cas sighed. If he didn’t do something soon, he was going to go out of his mind. He didn’t want to talk to Dean but it didn’t seem like he had much other choice. He moved over to the wall he was sitting up against. He put some space between them.

"So I heard you like classic rock," Cas said.

Dean looked over at him and scoffed and looked away. Now he wanted to talk to him? It was a little late for that.

Cas rolled his eyes. "Look, we don't like each other but I'm going to go out of my fucking mind with the silence. I hear we both like some of the same things. Cars is a big fat no so it's either music or how much we both like it up the ass!"

Dean shook his head and made a noise. "That wasn't blunt at all," he said as he looked away. "And I have other interests besides cars, music, and having sex with men."

Cas squinted. "You're a gay mechanic with an extensive classical rock _collection_."

Dean couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his lips. "I see your point. But I still have other interests."

"Like what?"

Dean hesitated. Did he really want to talk with him? He was pretty bored...Dean shrugged. "I like to cook. I like art."

"You like art?" Castiel asked, appalled at the new truth. He expected a lot of things from Dean, none of them good, so liking art was never one of them.

Dean rolled his eyes. "What, are you the kind of guy that thinks art is stupid?"

"Quite the opposite. I majored in art and I teach it at the university. It's actually how Sam and Gabe met. I had Sam sit in on the class and Gabe was my model that day. "

"Interesting," Dean mumbled. 

"What, that that's how they met?"

"That you would chose Gabe as a model. "

Castiel giggled at that, immediately righting himself like it never happened. "He begged and he was free. I couldn't really say no."

Dean shrugged. “You could have.”

* * *

  
  


Sam’s hands ran down Gabe's naked torso, bruising kisses keeping their mouths busy. Gabe arched at the touch, his fingers giving the smaller man goosebumps as he touched beautifully soft skin.

This was one of the reasons they bought this car. The seats folded into the floor and keeping a few blankets in the trunk was perfect at a time like this. 

Halfway during the ride, Gabriel’s hand had been creeping up his inner thigh and Sam couldn’t control his want for the man. He could barely wait when they had pulled the car over. Especially since Gabe had him drive into the middle of the woods where the knew no one would find them. 

“Mm– _Sam!_ ” he moaned. 

Gabriel’s hand trailed down, gripping his weeping cock. He gave it a few hard strokes, gliding his thumb over the tip and making Sam close his eyes at the new pleasure. “Oh God, Gabe. If you keep that up, I won’t make it.”

Gabriel chuckled seductively but removed his hand nonetheless. Sam ground down, their members sliding against each other; wet with precome, only slightly aware that the car was shaking with each thrust of his hips. 

Gabe threw his head back, moaning, as both hands fisted the blankets.

“Gabe… tell me… tell me what you want…” he tried. But he was so far gone that speaking was just a bit much for him. His voice was hoarse; rough, from the sex.

“T-take me Sam! P-please…”

Sam smirked at that, quickly getting the lube that they left in the glove box. 

Gabriel watched as he moved to spread the lubricant on his fingers and he stopped him. “No, no prep…” he panted. “Still open from last night. Please just take me,” he practically growled out, pulling Sam down, clashing teeth and tongue. 

Sam smiled as Gabe kissed him like it was giving him air. He didn’t break the kiss as he popped the top off of the bottle of lube and spread some on himself. They didn’t do this often. It was rare for Gabe to ask him to take him without the prep because the man loved the foreplay so much.

He didn’t waste any time as he pushed inside his boyfriend. 

Gabriel’s nails ran down his back, no doubt breaking skin as his eyes rolled back in his head, loving the feeling of Sam taking him, forcing his way inside, and stretching him to the fullest. There was some pain, but nothing he couldn’t handle. The pain was already melting into pleasure.

His moans came out in tiny puffs of air attached to strings of inaudible and broken words. He was trying to babble and Sam knew that because Gabe always babbled during sex. He usually succeeded but he was absolutely wrecked. 

“‘od...’am…’ove,” was all Sam heard, but he spoke Gabriel and that was him telling him to move already. 

He could feel them sticking together from the buildup of sweat but he didn’t care. Gabe was under him, looking beautiful and sexy.

He snapped his hips forward, leaving Gabe reeling and lolling his head around. His eyes were screwed shut. He doesn’t know how, but he somehow mustered enough energy to speak without everything coming out broken.

“Sam, i-if you don’t j-just fffuck me already–” 

The lawyer snapped his hips again, this time setting a steady pace, but it wasn’t enough for the man beneath him. His legs came up around his waist, giving Sam a better angle. His legs locked, trying to make Sam go faster and he obliged. 

Sam slammed into him. The only sounds in the car were their moans and the constant, steady, rhythm of skin slapping against skin. 

Gabe moved, bringing himself closer to the man, moving just right and allowing Sam to slam into his prostate without trying. 

Gabriel gasped, practically sitting up straight. He put his arms around Sam’s neck and instead of putting him back on the floor of the car, he sat on his haunches and fucked Gabe until the smaller man was seeing stars.

The repeated hit of his prostate was effectively milking him, building up to his orgasm. 

“Oh God! Y-yes! _Fuck_!” he shouted. 

And really, that was enough to make Sam come sometimes. His voice, deep and guttural, and riddled with sex and want and lust, it was just such a turn on for Sam. And Gabe was never one to be quiet, not that he was complaining in the slightest. 

Sam thrust into him over and over, Gabriel’s walls clenching around him every time he did. That had been a trick Gabe had taught himself and really, it drove the lawyer mad. It felt absolutely wonderful.

“Gabe–”

“Me too, Sammy,” he mumbled, his breath hot on his ear.

Sam reached between them, only getting the chance to give his cock one tentative squeeze before Gabe was spilling his seed between the two of them, coating both their chests and stomachs. 

Gabriel’s entire body clenched as words fell from his mouth, Sam’s name in there somewhere. 

Sam felt his walls clench him and he was gone, painting Gabriel white on the inside.  

Sam deposited him gently on his back before he flopped next to Gabe, panting and bringing the man close at the same time. Sam smiled goofily, his eyes closing in a stated of calm. 

“I love you, sweetheart.”

Gabriel chuckled and pushed at his shoulder, something he always did when Sam called him that. He reached for one of the blankets they were using and wiped them down. They would have to make sure they washed those later. 

“We haven’t gone at it like that in a while,” Gabriel said. He looked around. The car was steamy and hot, the windows fogged up from their heavy breathing. The chef chuckled at the thought. It was amazing, the way that Sam made him feel. And he loved every second of it. 

Sam laughed as well as Gabe turned on his side and nuzzled into the man. “No we haven’t. Which is a shame, really.”

They both laughed, easy and carefree. 

“I love you, you know that?” Sam said suddenly, only slightly serious. He was serious about his love for the smaller man but a smile played on his face. 

Gabe looked at him. “I love you too, Sammy.”

They laid in comfortable silence, fingers dancing across skin and kisses lazier than usual. Neither wanted to head home at the moment where they had to deal with their brothers. Part of them just wished to stay here for the rest of the week.

“We should probably head back to the cabin before our brothers kill each other…” Sam trailed off, not really wanting to. 

Gabriel smirked. “We could… _or_ , we could have round two and I could fuck you so hard that you leave scratch marks on my back.”

Sam laughed as Gabe climbed on top of him. “Oh, you mean like you did to me?”

“That’s right, pretty boy, come here.”

* * *

  
  


They had moved onto the couch that was positioned at a non working TV. After a while, sitting on the floor, their legs and feet had started to go numb.

They sat in silence mostly. It wasn’t awkward or comfortable, it was just long. 

“Oh my god!" Castiel said, perking up. He moved to the TV and opened the cabinet of the entertainment center. "I can't believe it's still here!" Cas said with excitement and Dean tried not to think of the perfect view of his ass. He popped back up with a sketch pad and a pencil tin. "My father used to hate it when I drew. The first thing he'd do when we got here was take my art supplies and tell me to do something manly. So I learned pretty early to hide this down here and tell him I was going to play pool."

"That's cool," Dean said absentmindedly, jealous that the man now had something to do and he didn't. 

Dean watched as he flipped his sketchbook open to what he assumed was a clean page. He looked all around the room, probably looking for something to draw. His eyes settled on Dean before he cast his eyes downward, looking sheepish. He reached for the tin and pulled out some charcoal. 

"Tell me about yourself," he said suddenly. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t know if this was a good idea at all. Dean… well… there were no words.

"I thought you couldn't care less about me?"

Castiel cast his eyes downward, feeling just a little ashamed that Dean thought that. But why wouldn’t he? The way he had acted sure sent that message. He had ignored him at every turn and when Dean had aimed to apologize for his behavior last night, he just pushed him away. He felt like some of it was justified, but definitely not the tantrum he threw.

Dean just sighed as he faced the man, his right knee coming up and bending and his head resting on his fist. "What would you like to know?"

Cas perked up, grinning just a bit. "What was your childhood like?"

Dean thought about that for a moment, hesitating to answer. 

"Was that too personal?"

Dean shook his head after a moment. "No. It's fine. My childhood wasn't anything special. I had two parents who loved me and my brother. We weren't rich like your family but we weren't poor either. My parents always got us everything we wanted for Christmas or our birthdays. And if we needed something, we had it. We were well off."

"What's the earliest memory you have?" He asked, Dean not noticing when he started to draw. 

"That would probably be when they brought Sam home. I remember thinking he was the smallest thing I had ever seen. Sometimes it makes me wonder how he got so damn big."

Castiel couldn't stop the chuckle that came out of his mouth. In that moment, he felt bad for disliking Dean. He felt bad for the hateful words they were convinced they had to sling at each other just because they were upset. It was childish but he couldn't take it back now. Part of him wouldn't take it back. If it hadn't been for the constant fighting, they wouldn't be here right now. Granted that here wasn't so glorious, but at this point, it could be worse. 

"But I remember thinking something that, later on, my mom told me was instant love. I remember thinking that this baby was mine to protect." He stopped, noticing that Cas was drawing. "Why am I even telling you all this. You hate me and you're not even listening."

Cas looked up, blue meeting green. "Trust me, I'm listening. And I don't hate you. It's more of a strong dislike. But if I get to know you better, I might like you more. So keep talking. Tell me a secret that no one else knows."

Dean scoffed. "Why would I trust you with a secret?"

"Because I don't care enough to tell anyone else."

Dean just looked at him and Cas rolled his eyes. "Fine. I will go first. When I first met you I thought you had pretty green eyes," he said before going back to his drawing. 

Dean smiled a cocky smile. "So what? You were just pretending to hate me because you're attracted to me?"

"Nope. That was me genuinely disliking you. What did you expect? You hit my baby."

"Says the man who called me a pretentious douche bag for calling my car baby."

"Ah-ah. I said she _is_ my baby. I don't call her baby. There is a difference."

"So I'm still the pretentious douche bag?"

Cas scoffed. "Of course you are."

Dean chuckled as he watched Castiel. His wrist flicked in odd angles before his thumb would smooth out a line on the page. His brow furrowed as he concentrated. Dean didn't stop the thoughts as they focused on him. How he looked... Beautiful. 

Cas' eyes flicked up so quick, to glance at his unknowing model, and looked back down that it took him a minute before he realized Dean had been staring at him. He looked up, their eyes meeting again. 

"You still haven't told me a secret."

Dean battled with himself for a moment before sighing. "I have a thing for the color blue."

Cas stopped. He put down the hand that had the charcoal in it as he looked at Dean, his interest peaked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that there is something about the color that gets me every time. I think it's the reason I stayed with my ex as long as I did. He had blue eyes and he would just stare at me with them and I would lose it."

Castiel was frozen for a moment, not being able to think about anything except the very color of his own eyes. Thoughts raced through his head at the knew fact. But he shook his head, shaking him out of his thoughts. 

"No wonder your car kissed mines ass."

Dean's eyes closed as he chuckled, somehow finding the topic to joke about now. "You do have a nice car, I'll give you that."

"And your car is beautiful—" Cas looked up and saw Dean's cocky smile. He blushed. "Oh whatever, like you don't know you have a nice car."

"Oh no, I know it. Never thought I'd hear you say it.”

Castiel smiled, finding it easier than he thought it would be. 

“Why did you yell at me last night?” he asked without looking up. 

Dean looked elsewhere, not wanting to explain all this. He sighed. He supposed he owed him an explanation. “You… you just caught me at a bad time. My ex had just called–”

“Say no more,” Cas interrupted. 

Dean gave him an odd look.

“Look… I know about ex’s, trust me I _know_. My ex and I have been apart for a while now and every once and a while he still thinks it’s okay to call me for a booty call. I tell him no every single time. I’m not like that. But he still tries.”

Dean turned just a bit more. “That’s the same with mine. He never stops trying. I can’t stand him. I wonder why I ever dated him.”

Cas laughed and simply stated, “Blue eyes, remember?” he doesn’t catch himself pointing to his own, but Dean does.

Dean scoffed at that. “Yeah. I suppose so.”

He looked over at the man. He waited for him to pick up the charcoal, as to not ruin what ever he was drawing, before snatching the book. Castiel was on him in an instant. Dean held him off with his right and put the sketch book in his left. 

“Dean! Give that back!”

Dean chuckled. “You know for someone who doesn’t like me, you sure do say my name a lot.”

Cas struggled to get the book before he looked down at the page but to no avail. Dean looked down and suddenly the fighting stopped. He froze, letting Cas fall against his shoulder. Castiel tried to grab the book but Dean just held tighter. 

“Cas… this is… this is amazing,” he said as he quickly looked from Cas back down to the picture. The picture was of himself. He doesn’t know how Castiel was able to do this, especially since he hadn’t sat still or stopped talking since he found the sketchbook. On the page, Dean was in the middle of talking. His mouth was slightly ajar, his eyes looking elsewhere, while his hand gestured like it was important. “No wonder you’re an art professor.”

Cas looked at him. “You really like it?”

“Like it? I love it. It looks amazing.”

“Hello? Did you guys kill each other?” They suddenly heard. 

Their eyes widened, Dean letting go of the sketchbook in favor of running up the stairs. He banged on the door. “Guys! We're in here!”

They waited just seconds before the door swung open, Dean almost falling as he had been leaning on the door. 

Gabe gave a smirk. “What were you–

“We got locked down there,” Cas said fiercely before he had the chance to say anything that would embarrass him. He knew the smirk on Gabriel’s face all too well and he knew exactly what he was insinuating. 

Gabe blushed and looked down. His brother squinted at him him advancing forward. “What did you do?!” he started yelling, only stopping when he felt Dean’s hands on his shoulders to stop him from strangling the other man. 

Castiel looked back at him quickly. He didn’t mind. He should have, but he didn’t.

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” he said, throwing his hands up just as Sam walked in the room. “The knob fell off last night and I tried to fix it. I guess I didn’t do so well.”

“Ugh!” Cas groaned. He put his head in his hands. Dean’s hands suddenly registered on his shoulders. He might have gotten angrier at Gabriel if it weren’t for Dean’s hands there. He honestly didn’t know if he should believe his brother, seeing how that was something he would have done; playing matchmaker. 

Dean looked over at Sam, his hands slipping off his shoulders. “Is that Chinese food?”

Sam smirked. “Gabriel didn’t exactly feel like cooking.”

Gabriel blushed again, harder this time but even through the blush, you could see his smirk which meant—

“Oh God, Gabe, is _that_ why you guys didn’t come back for hours?!” Castiel asked, but he already knew the answer.

Dean made a face as he too realized what they had been up to and that really wasn’t what he needed to think about his baby brother doing that.

“Ew…” Dean said.

Gabriel threw his head back in laughter as he moved toward the dining room, the rest of them following him. 

Dean sat in the seat next to Cas, where Sam had been sitting for the past three days to make sure that the two didn’t have to sit next to each other. He began and Cas began to take things out of the bag, their brothers knowing them enough to get them the right thing. 

Sam and Gabe gave him a look. Dean rolled his eyes. “I just thought that you two would like to sit next to each other for a change. Don’t worry, Cas and I aren’t going to kill each other.”

Cas smirked. “No promises.”

Dean chuckled, picked up a grain of rice and flicked it at him. 

Castiel laughed and shoved his shoulder. “Asshole,” he said with no malice. 

“Dick.”

Sam and Gabe looked at each other. They watched as their brothers at the end of the table had a mini food fight with each other, nothing too big, just piece of rice. Gabriel gave Sam an; ‘I told you so’ smirk while Sam just smiled in disbelief. 

“Alright, enough you two!” Sam said “I’m the one who has to clean.” 

Dean aimed and hit his brother between the eyes with a piece of rice. 

Gabriel and Castiel covered their mouths, trying not to laugh.

“Oh it is _on_!”

 

* * *

 

Dean laughed to himself as he watched grains of rice fall from his hair and into the drain. It had turned into an all out food fight. They hadn’t wasted all the food, just the rice. It had been Gabriel and Sam against Dean and Cas. Well, it started out that way. Some how it became every man for themselves. But it had been the most fun the four of them had in a long time. 

After their food fight had calmed down, they sat on the floor of the dining room like they were children, eating what they hadn’t thrown at each other. What Sam and Gabe didn’t know was that while they were making out next to them, Dean and Cas had dubbed themselves friends. 

Castiel had showered before him, and now it was his turn. 

He scrubbed his head under the water, wondering where all the rice was coming from, it wasn’t like he had a whole lot of hair. Still, it made him laugh more than it frustrated him. 

He finished his shower, towel drying off as much as he could before exiting the room. He looked over at Castiel’s door, not knowing if he should knock or not. He didn’t really have something to say… It was almost like he was drawn to the door because before he knew it, he was knocking on the door and Castiel was answering. 

Cas opened the door, looking at a mostly naked Dean standing there, still dripping, in just a towel. He looked him up and down, not hiding that he was doing it. _Fuck_ , why was he so good looking? 

Dean looked down at Cas. He was wearing a blue t-shirt under a gray sweater, that opened down the front. It looked like it had a string that closed it before it had gotten lost somewhere or maybe he just didn’t like it and got rid of it. It was just a bit too big for him. It hung down to his knees and the sleeves stopped where his fingers started so you couldn’t see his whole hand. His fingers were wrapped around the cloth like it was something that he loved doing. He was wearing a pair of black pajama pants that hung low on his hips so that wear his shirt stopped, Dean could see a patch of skin that he wanted to touch. 

Cas smirked. “This isn’t the part like in Titanic where you ask me to draw you like one of my french girls, right?” he asked as he gestured to him.

Dean looked down, noticing that he was in a towel, suddenly feeling like Cas could see right through it. “I’ll be right back.”

Dean went to his room, threw on some boxers, shorts, and a t-shirt before he padded back across the hall. This time when Cas answered the door, he smiled up at him. 

“What can I do for you?” he asked as he stepped aside, letting Dean in his room, something he never thought he’d do. 

Dean stepped inside, not bothering looking around because he didn’t want to be nosy. “I actually wanted to know two things.” He sat down at the foot of the bed while Cas resumed his spot at the head of it.  “I wanted to know if you had any artwork you were willing to part with? Well now I guess it’s three things because I never had the chance to ask you what kinds of artwork you do. I know you draw but I didn’t get to ask if there was anything else.”

Cas smiled. Dean was rambling but somehow he made it work. Somehow it was just fine. “I, uh, I actually do quite a few things. I draw, I sculpt, I paint. What did you have in mind?”

Dean shrugged. “Maybe some paintings. I own an auto shop. We have a really nice waiting area for people, because we’re always so busy, but the walls are bare. I’ve been thinking of putting things up for a while, but I couldn’t find the right things.”

Cas nodded. “You know that painting in Gabe’s bakery, the one of all the pies? I painted that.”

Dean _loves_ that painting. Every single time he goes into Gabe’s shop he stands and stares at if he’s not talking to anyone. It wasn’t just because he loved pie, it was the colors and the homey feeling it gave him. “I _love_ that painting!” Dean says expressing his own thoughts. “Do you think I could get you do one like that but with cars?” he asked.

Castiel laughed at the child that was coming out of the man, the excitement. Yeah… maybe Dean Winchester wasn’t so bad after all. “Yeah I think I could. You sure you wouldn’t rather a sculpture? If you can get me any kind of car parts, I can melt them down into a sculpture.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “Are you serious? That would be awesome. Jo is going to love this!” he said as he surged forward, bringing Cas in his arms. The professor’s eyes widened, nearly popping out of his head.

Dean gave him no time to reciprocate as he deposited him back on the bed.

“Who’s, Jo, if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked, clearing his throat.

Dean shrugged. “Jo is my second father’s daughter.” He looked over at Cas and laughed at the confused face. As far as Cas knew, John Winchester was still alive and happily married to Mary Winchester. “Bobby isn’t really my second father. I call him that because he’s always been there for me _like_ a father. He was there for Sam and I before our dad was okay with us being gay. Bobby run’s the auto shop with me, and his daughter Jo helps out with the cars when she needs some extra money. She’s like my sister.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to clarify that, but he did. 

Cas nodded. “What was your other question?”

“Right! I was wondering if I could have that charcoal drawing you did of me? I loved it.”

The professor smiled. He reached under his pillow and pulled out the sketchbook. He opened to a page before gently ripping out the drawing. 

Dean took it and looked at it for a moment before smiling at the other man. “Thanks. Hey, I’m about to go down and get something to eat. You want to come with me? We didn’t actually get a whole lot of food in our mouths tonight.”

Castiel laughed at their previous antics and nodded. 

Dean quickly put the drawing in his own room before they made their way downstairs. When they reached the bottom, they saw all the extra decorations. 

“When did all this happen?”

Cas shrugged. “Gabe probably did it. He loves to decorate. I mean so do I, but he goes overboard.”

Dean laughed and shook his head as they continued walking. “Dude’s crazy.”

“He’s my brother and even I agree—”

“AH-AH-AH! STOP RIGHT THERE!” Gabe suddenly interrupted, being louder than he needed to be.

They looked over and stopped, Sam looking up at them, a wide grin spreading across his face. 

Cas looked up before pulling on Dean’s shirt. 

“What?” 

The professor pointed upward and they both looked up to see the mistletoe hanging over their heads. Dean rolled his eyes, groaning a little. “You two have _got_ to be kidding. There are only four people in the house. You knew what you were doing.”

Gabe grinned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dean. I put that up for me and Sammy to have another reason to kiss. It’s just luck that you two happened to walk under it at the same time,” he lied. 

Castiel moved to walk away but Gabe got up and stopped him. 

“And where do you think you’re going, baby brother? If you don’t obey the rules of the mistletoe, I’ll lock you in the basement again.”

Castiel sighed. His brother wasn’t kidding and Sam would no doubt help. Dean must have been thinking the same thing because he suddenly turned to him and kissed him on the cheek. 

“Boo!” The two of them chorused. But Dean heard a third voice. He looked over at Sam to find him on his tablet, skyping, or something of the sort, with Jo. 

“That wasn’t a kiss, Dean, and you know it! C’mon! Kiss him!” The blonde said through the device. 

They turned to each other. 

“They’re not going to shut up unless we do it,” Cas pointed out. 

Dean nodded. “I figured. We don’t have to do this if you’re uncomfortable.”

Cas laughed. “It’s just a kiss. We’re not saying ‘I do,’ or anything.”

Dean laughed as well. Okay, so maybe Castiel Novak wasn’t that bad after all.

Dean suddenly crowded his space, leaning down slowly. He gave the dark haired man a chance to pull away. When he didn’t, he swooped down pressed their lips together. It was chaste and close-lipped but both felt something more.

Dean had meant for it to only be a peck. It was supposed to be quick and nothing to write home about. But that changed when Castiel’s hand found the back of his neck, daring to deepen the kiss. 

At this point, the people around them were gone. It was just them. They couldn’t hear the catcalls, suggestive whistling, or they awkward laughing at this sudden development. The only thing that was of any importance was them. 

Cas’ arms came up and around his neck just as Dean’s arms encircled his waist and his tongue slipped into Cas’ mouth. Moans were pulled from both their throats as the kiss deepened and they melted into each other like this was something they did regularly. Their tongues slid against each other, mapping out each others mouths.

Finally someone broke their trance by coughing louder than needed. They started at the sound but didn’t jump apart. They pulled apart just far enough to be able to look into each others eyes. 

This might complicate some things...


	6. Christmas Eve

Castiel stood in the doorway of Dean’s room. Sam had sent him up to wake him. He said that if it was him doing the waking, he probably wouldn’t get a pillow to the face like Sam would. So here he was, being the grunt and doing Sam’s dirty work. It was unfortunate too, because Dean looked so peaceful. 

Cas smirked, an idea popping into his head. He moved forward and sat on the floor. Dean was face down on the mattress, his face facing Cas.

Castiel poked at the man’s face, trying not to laugh as Dean’s face twitched where he poked. His shoulders shook silently at Dean’s reaction. He did it again. This time Dean’s hand came up to swat at him but Cas avoided it. He poked the spot one more time before Dean’s eyes slowly started to open.

Dean doesn’t really know what he had been expecting. But when he opened his eyes, he hadn’t expected to see a smiling Castiel barely an inch away from his face. His eyes opened wide and his body started, making him jump up into a sitting position. 

Castiel clutched his stomach as he fell back on the floor laughing. 

Dean grumbled and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. “What are you doing?” he asked groggily. 

Cas sat up, still leaning back on his hands. “Sam said that if he woke you up that he would get a pillow to the face. He said that you wouldn’t do that to me.”

Dean grinned and grabbed the pillow before throwing it at him, it landing on his face with a dull thud. “Well, I’m always glad to prove him wrong.”

Castiel smiled and threw it back. “They say to get ready. We are going ice skating and then out to eat. Gabe has waffles waiting downstairs.”

Dean looked at the man in front of him. They hadn’t talked about last night. They had spent the rest of their time downstairs looking at each other, blushes and smiles branding their faces. They had even linked their ankles together at one point, just to be touching without having to listen to Gabe and Sam telling them how cute they were together. 

Dean opened his mouth to say something but the way Cas was looking at him, he snapped it shut. He didn’t want to ruin this. He didn’t want to taint what was going on between them by talking about it too soon. He shut up and smiled. 

He also didn’t want to look like a fool. It was just a kiss, albeit… the best kiss he’s had in years, but it was still just a kiss. And he needed to accept that if Cas decided that; No, he really didn’t like him.

“Let’s go eat,” Cas said as he grabbed his hand, making any though Dean had or was about to have, fly right out the window. 

Gabe was a lot of things, some of them bad, but an excellent chef was at the top of the list. He didn’t know how the man could take something as simple as waffles and turn them into something that tasted like it belonged in a five star restaurant.

Dean groaned deep and guttural when he took his first bite. “Dude, when are you going to open a restaurant? I would be there every day.”

They laughed and discussed if he would ever actually do it. Gabe’s specialty had been baked goods, which was why he opened a bakery. But when he had met Sam and had started cooking real homemade meals, his range had expanded to all foods. He thought about opening a restaurant but what about his bakery? He couldn’t be in two places at once. As of now, it was just a pipe dream. 

Dean honestly didn’t even know he was moaning over the deliciousness of the food until he felt Cas kick him under the table. Dean looked up at him. His eyes were dark, pupils blown wide. It was obvious that he was doing something to the man. 

Dean smiled, liking the fact that Cas wasn’t afraid to admit things and tell the truth. Cas was attracted to him. He suddenly sucked in a breath of air, coughing on the food that had been in his mouth. 

Holy shit. 

_Cas was attracted to him_.

Cas’ face went from one of want to worry. “Dean? You okay?” he asked, his hand finding Dean’s shoulder. 

The mechanic finally swallowed his food, taking a deep breath as he did so. “Yeah. I’m good. Wrong pipe,” was all he said. 

Cas frowned into his cup of coffee. So that’s the reaction he got to openly admitting he was attracted to the blond? He had thought that the kiss they shared meant something more to him… he supposed not. 

  
  


“I can’t believe you guys wanted to go ice skating. Isn’t Christmas eve supposed to be for relaxing, eating, and drinking?”

Not many people were around. This was a small town and people were getting ready for dinner parties or doing some extremely last minute shopping. There were only two other people in the rink and it seemed like they were getting ready to leave. 

Gabe chuckled from his place in Sam’s arms. “We will do all of that later on tonight. Don’t you worry.”

Sam and Gabe took off, not waiting for the other two. 

“Our brothers seem to be getting along nicely,” Sam said. 

The blond smiled. “And think, all it took was a broken door and some mistletoe.”

Sam chuckled as he ran his hand through his hair. “Cas drew Dean.”

Gabe looped around, grabbing the barrier of the ice rink with one hand and grabbed Sam with the other, halting them. “What do you mean he drew Dean?”

Cas doesn’t draw just anybody or for just anybody. The last person he drew was his high school girlfriend and that’s only because she forced him to. 

The brunet gave him an odd look. “I went by Dean’s room this morning when we were getting ready and there was a picture of him, drawn in charcoal, sitting on his desk. And seeing as how Castiel is the art professor. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

Gabe gaped at him. 

“What’s the big deal?”

“Sam… Cassie doesn’t draw just _anyone_. He doesn’t like to unless the person really catches his eye and he sure as hell doesn’t _give_ you the drawing if he does. The only person outside of family was a high school girlfriend and that was because she forced him to do it. Him giving you a drawing of yourself… it’s like sex for him. He doesn’t do it unless you're special.”

  
  


“Dean, I can see you procrastinating,” he said as the mechanic laced, unlaced, and re-laced his skates for about the third time. 

Dean blushed and voice, “I am not. I’m just making sure they’re on right.” He looked over at Castiel who was giving him a look that said he didn’t believe him for a minute. He sighed. “Alright. I haven’t skated in over ten years.”

Cas smiled and took his hand just as Dean finished lacing once again. “Come on. I haven’t skated in almost that long as well. I am sure we’ll be fine.”

Castiel turned around to walk onto the ice but immediately turned around, practically running into Dean. “Oh my god…” he whispered. 

The mechanics eyebrows scrunched. “What– what’s wrong?” he asked as he looked over Cas’ head to see another man walking on to the ice, that was all. 

“That’s Raphael,” he spat. “I should have _known_ that I would see him.”

“What’s wrong with him?” he said as he looked over again and saw the man getting on the ice, heading in their direction. “Uh, Cas, he’s coming over here.”

Castiel cursed. “He’s been trying to get in my pants since we were fifteen! He’s a stalker!”

Dean bent down just a bit. “Well get ready because here he comes.”

“R-Raphael? Hi!” Cas said, as he turned around, trying to sound enthusiastic about seeing him even though he was far from it. 

The man smiled and Dean couldn’t say he liked the way he looked at Castiel. He looked at him like a prize he had yet to win. Something he was hungry for and had never been able to have. If Dean had his way, he never would. 

“Hello, Castiel. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

Cas chuckled nervously. This man had always creeped him out. He remembered back when he was a teenager and they would come to the rink, his parents would go off and do last minute shopping while Gabe would find something else that peaked his interest. He would leave him. And Raphael would find him as soon as he was alone.

Castiel nodded. “Yup. I got a job and got older; my parent’s stopped coming here. We’re here because Gabe and his boyfriend; Sam, thought it would be a nice getaway for all of us.”

Raphael smiled a predatory smile. “And who is this?” he asked as he looked at Dean.

“This is—”

“I’m Dean. I’m Sam’s brother and Cas’ boyfriend,” he said as he took Cas’ hand in his and laced their fingers together. 

Cas’ head whipped up to look at him, his mouth only slightly agape. Now that, he hadn’t been expecting at all. 

Dean gave a satisfied smirk as Raphael’s smile dropped into one of anger. It was obvious that Cas had never actually brought a significant other with him. Because Raphael looked like a child who had just been denied his favorite toy. 

“Oh? You have a boyfriend, do you, Castiel?”

  
  


Gabe looked over to see Raphael talking to the two of them. 

“Shit…” he mumbled. 

“What’s wrong?”

“That man talking to Dean and Cas… he was Cassie’s personal stalker when we were younger. He’s lived in this town his entire life and he’s always taken a liking to my brother.”

Gabe moved to go save them from the man when Sam caught his arm. “Let my brother handle this one,” he said as he pulled him back to where he was standing and motioned for him to watch.

Gabriel blanched. “Are you kidding? Three days ago— Oh my god…” he gasped as he watched Dean slip his hand into Castiel’s and then smirk at the man, sizing him up.

Sam smiled, proud of his brother. Dean usually let people fight their own battles. He must have deemed Cas worthy of his help. Cas had to mean something to him. 

“Your brother continues to surprise me, Sammy,” he commented with a smirk.

“I know the feeling.”

“I might not have to threaten his dick when he and my brother announce their together.” They looked back over to the scene just as Raphael stormed off, or at least the best he could on skates. “Which by the look of it, won’t be long.”

  
  


“Uh…” Cas didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if he should lie like this. But at the same time, Raphael would never find out. He smiled wide, tightening his hand around Dean’s. “Yes. Dean and I have been dating for a while now. He’s sweet, caring—”

“And very protective,” Dean practically growled. 

Raphael huffed. “Well… I wish you all the happiness,” he said before he stormed away the best he could. 

Castiel waited until he was on the other side of the rink and out of earshot before he turned around, wrapped his hands around Dean’s neck, and squeezed him

  
  
  
  
  


as hard as he could muster. “I can’t even tell you how much that meant to me… thank you,” he whispered. 

Dean laughed, his hands resting on his hips. They parted just enough so that they could see each other. “It’s not a problem, really. I didn’t like the way he looked at you. Dude gave me the creeps.”

Cas laughed with him. “He has that effect on people.” They broke apart completely. “C’mon. It’s time for you to show me what you can do,” he said with a playful smirk. 

Dean watched as he stepped backward and gracefully slid onto the ice. “Don’t tell me you can do spins and tricks,” Dean baited.

He smiled and skated away. Dean watched him build up speed, skating around the rink before going toward the middle, kicking up his leg and spinning so incredibly fast, Dean was getting dizzy just watching him. 

He stepped tentatively on the ice, not wanting to fall. 

Cas came up to him, bobbing on his skates as he did. "My cousin was a figure skater. When we were teenagers, her partner dropped out and I had always been good. I skated the routine with her," he explained without being asked. 

"Show off," Dean threw at him, making Cas laugh. 

Dean wobbled as he slid away from the wall. He was sure he was going to go down when Cas took his hand, holding them out in front of him while he skated backwards. “Just glide like this. You’ll be fine.”

Dean did as he was told, mimicking the movements Castiel was making. “This isn’t one of those moments where I tell you not to let go and you do it anyway, is it?”

“I don’t know, is it?” the man asked with a smirk.

Dean went to speak but before he could, Cas let go. He kept going, proud to be skating on his own without help. He looked up at the professor and smiled, who smiled back with ease. He was doing wonderfully. 

That was until he lost his footing, his body beginning to careen backwards. Cas reached out, trying to reel him back to his feet. But he hadn’t expected for him to be as heavy as he was and they both went down.

Both landed with a dull thud. 

  
  


“You would think they would at least _try_ to act like we exist,” Sam said, shaking his head. 

Gabriel scoffed at that. “I know! It's like we aren't even here," he stated then shrugged. "Though I suppose we got what we wanted. They look pretty sweet on each other."

A smile broke out on the brunet's face at the choice of words. Gabriel had said that to him when they were dating. He was always telling him he was sweet on him. He thought it was perfect.

"Like you were sweet on me?"

"I'm still sweet on you," Gabriel smiled seductively. He moved forward without looking, trying to be suave. All he accomplished was almost falling backward; a look of panic and hilarity crossing his face. 

Sam caught him, pulling him to his chest. Gabriel chuckled at himself and let his head fall against his chest. 

"I'm glad. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't."

He squeezed Sam tighter as if he was his lifeline. In some ways he was. 

He had met Sam during a bad time in his life. He had just gotten out of an abusive relationship. It wasn't one of those stories where he stayed because he loved him and he was convinced he would change. He had been so afraid.

Ryan had been his first official boyfriend after he came out to his parents and he had been so happy. That was until Ryan had called him one day when Castiel was over. He had called, telling him that he knew he had another guy over. He had tried to convince him that it was his brother. But he wouldn't believe him. 

When he came home, that was the first time he had hit him.

Gabriel had gotten away two weeks later. 

He met Sam another two weeks after that. 

He had told Sam about Ryan the third month they were dating. Sam had taken him in his arms, held him close and tight, and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. He promised he would never hurt him. And all the time they had been dating, he never had. 

Sam smiled and hugged him back, knowing that Gabe was lost in thought. He always got that look when he was. 

  
  


“Ugh!” Dean groaned. He had hit the back of his head on the ice. It didn’t help that he had someone who land on him.

Castiel’s head had landed right on his chest; he could feel the pain starting to form. He lifted his head to look down at the man, that was when he realized the position they were in. 

Castiel’s head was on his chest, facing away, probably in too much pain to do anything at the moment. But Dean’s legs were spread open wide; Castiel in between them.

Cas looked up finally. He immediately realized their position. He smiled. “I hope no one saw that. People will talk.”

“ _Oh my god he watches Sherlock!_ ” Dean thought in his head. He smiled back at him. “People do little else.”

Castiel’s eyes widened, scrambling to sit up and look him in the face properly. “Oh my god. You watch Sherlock?”

Dean nodded. “I never meant to. I was at Sam’s house and he mentioned his friend getting him into all these British shows. He said that I would like at least one of them. And I took a liking to Sherlock; I like mysteries. I’m guessing you’re the friend.”

Cas blushed and nodded. “Guilty as charged.”

The dark-haired man stood, putting his hand out for Dean to take and helped him up.

“You know…” Cas started, their hands still clasped. “Uh… ever since I was a kid, I never sleep on Christmas eve… Maybe… Maybe we could watch some Sherlock.” His head hung down, afraid to meet Dean’s eyes; afraid to get rejected like this morning. If he and Dean couldn’t go there, it would be nice to be his friend. 

Dean’s mind raced. “I would love that,” he said with a breathtaking smile but it soon settled back into a frown. “But I don’t think the TV has a laptop hook up or a DVD player.”

Cas smiled sheepishly. “I uh… I meant if you wanted to come to my room. We could watch it on my laptop.”

Dean’s smile returned as he spoke. “Even better.”

  
  


“My ass hurts…” Dean said as they sat down in a booth. The restaurant was fifties themed, but really; what dinner wasn’t? He had never seen one with a different vibe. 

The group laughed. Taken out of context, people could get the wrong idea. 

“Oh shut up. Immature, all of you,” he mumbled. 

Cas was sitting on the inside of the booth while Dean sat on the outside, Gabe and Sam mirroring their brothers. 

“Well if you didn’t keep falling–”

“Yes, because I had a choice,” he scoffed. 

The entire time they were there, they made small talk. They talked about what had happened at the rink with Raphael. Cas told them how he was his hero in the situation. Dean had chuckled nervously, not expecting Castiel to grab to his arm and cling to it during the story. What was even more surprising was the fact that he didn’t let go until the waitress came around with their food in hand. 

In the middle of eating, he felt the booth shaking. He looked down to see his foot wagging back and forth, not having any real purpose. He recalled the night before when Cas had linked their feet around each other under the table. If he had to guess, it looked like he was itching to do the same again.

Dean frowned in frustration. What had he done to make Cas think that wasn’t okay? He huffed in thought before sliding his foot next to his and locking their ankles. 

Cas’ head had whipped up, confused at the action. 

The mechanic frowned deeper when he couldn’t read what was behind his eyes. He went to move away but Cas stiffened and dragged him back. 

Dean smiled and went back to eating his burger, satisfied with what was happening. 

Okay… so maybe— no… there was no _maybe_. Dean had a full-blown, ridiculous, schoolboy crush on one Castiel Novak. He felt liked he would have been fine, that they could have remained friends and nothing more if it hadn’t been for that kiss. It hadn’t been like any he had experienced before. It was tantalizing, bruising, sensual, and gentle all wrapped up in one. He didn’t know how he did it but all Dean wanted to do was lay him down on a bed and take—

“Hello! Dean!”

Dean snapped out of his reverie, all of them staring at him. “What?” he mumbled.

“We were asking you if you wanted anything for dessert?” Gabriel said with a knowing smile. 

And in that moment, Dean wanted to slap it off his face. How did he always know? 

“Pie. The answer is always pie,” he said with a charming smile. 

  
  


“Okay. Favorite movie genre on the count of three,” Cas started. 

Dean nodded and counted with him. 

“One... two… three– Action!”

The day had come to a halt and night was falling. Dean was thankful for this, as was Castiel. They had learned that both their families, every Christmas eve, liked to either host or drag them to a family function with dozens of relatives that they never saw the other three-hundred and sixty-four days of the year, but would always treat you like they had seen you last week. 

They both hated it with a passion. Neither were big on their family members. Both had a crazy, drunk, uncle and an aunt who just loved to tell you what you were doing wrong with your life. 

So this? This lack of chaos and companionship that they wouldn’t find with anyone else in their families was better than anyone could possibly imagine. 

The two laughed, Sherlock completely forgotten, still playing all the episodes on Cas’ laptop. 

They had been watching it when they got on the topic of John and Sherlock being nothing like each other. Somehow that had led them to listing all of their favorite things and seeing if the other shared them. They shared a common interest in pretty much everything. Music, Television, Movies, and so many more. It was surreal. 

It was Dean’s turn. “Favorite type of weather?”

“One… two… three– Rainy!”

“I _love_ rainy days,” Cas cheered. “I remember when I was a kid, we used to go to a lake house for the summer. I wouldn’t swim in the lake all month, but as soon as a storm hit, I’d be out there in my swim trunks.”

The mechanic laughed. “I didn’t have a lake house, but when a storm would hit, Sammy and I used to put on our trunks and go out front. Though, it’s better when it’s too cold outside. You can sit inside, wrapped in a blanket.”

“Curled up with a book,” Castiel tried. 

“Boo!” Dean rallied and threw a piece of popcorn at him, Castiel trying to use the pillow in his lap as a shield. 

“What?” he chuckled. “I happen to like to read!”

“You curl up with a movie and partner. That’s the way to go.”

Cas nodded. “Okay, I agree. That would be preferable. But I haven’t had someone to curl up with in a long time.”

“I know how you feel,” he said as his eyes flicked back to the laptop. “This is my favorite part,” he said suddenly. 

Cas looked at the screen as they repositioned himself next to Dean, facing the laptop. He recognized the scene from the season finale of Sherlock. The pool scene… the one they had quoted at the rink. Castiel smiled wide. 

“This is my favorite scene too.”

They both watched as Sherlock ripped John’s jacket off.

Dean laughed. “Sometimes I think the writers do that stuff just to mess with the people who want to see them be together.”

Cas nodded in agreement. “I could see where people would want them to be. They have a natural chemistry that just _has_ to stem from the actors themselves.”

“I think they could work. Though Sherlock is a little rough around the edges.”

“Well so is John.”

Dean looked sidelong at Cas but not for too long, daring to dive forward. “And Sherlock has never had a connection with any other person like he has with John.”

“I think John feels the same,” he said without looking away from his laptop. He was hinting and if he looked at Dean now, he would give it away. 

“They have such great chemistry. You could even say they balance each other.”

“Oh definitely. I don’t think, at this point, they’ve gotten to explore it much yet.”

“I think they should.”

Cas swallowed hard. “Maybe one of them is too afraid of rejection…”

Dean was staring at Cas now, the man not looking away from his laptop. “Cas…”

“Dean… we’re not talking about John and Sherlock anymore, are we?”

Dean smiled. “I don’t think we ever were.”

Cas turned to look at the other man. When he did, Dean’s face was so close to his, they were only centimeters apart. They could feel each others breath on their lips. 

Dean surged forward and captured Castiel’s lips. 

Cas moaned as Dean’s lips found his. It was the same sensation as last night. It was electric, shattering, satisfying. It was _everything_ a kiss could ever be. Neither understood it but they weren’t fighting it either. 

Dean pulled him down and on top of him as their tongues collided. This time it was Dean who moaned, who had been thinking about this since the moment they stopped the first time. 

Dean’s hand was tangled in Cas’ hair, strong arms surrounding the smaller, lithe, man, whereas Cas' hands were trapped between their chests, arms bent at the elbow and clinging onto the shirt of the man beneath him; ravaging his mouth. 

_God_ , they fit together like puzzle pieces.

When they finally broke apart, it was only for air. 

Cas looked down at Dean; breathless, panting, and pupils blown wide.

“Don’t tell Sam and Gabe they were right,” he breathed out. 

Dean threw his head back on the pillow, laughing. Yeah. He understood why he liked this guy. 

Castiel smiled as he rolled to the side, pulling Dean on him. 

This was going to be a fun night. 

  
  



	7. Christmas Day

Castiel’s woken up to the sun streaming in from the window and on to his face. His nose scrunched at the brightness, but it's nothing he can control.

He moved to get up and close the curtain, but a strong arm wrapped around his waist stopped him.

His eyes widened a little. He remembered their little impromptu make out session. He looked down and saw that he had no shirt on. He looked behind him and saw that neither did Dean.

His heart rate picked up just a bit. Making out was one thing; putting out was a totally different one.

He closed his eyes again, recalling last night and let out a breath of air in relief. They had just kissed, nothing more. Albeit, there were some very heated kisses. They had been kissing and cuddling all night, they must have fallen asleep.

He tried to get up again but the arms stiffened once again, Cas realizing Dean was awake.

He smiled as he turned around to face him. “I know you’re awake. Why won’t you let me up?”

“Don’t wanna…” he mumbled groggily.

They had had a late night last night. They had spent most of it staying up and talking. But that was before they kissed. After that, they couldn’t stop rolling around in the bed, mouths not stopping.

He remembers them laughing like they were drunk. At the time, Cas had said that and Dean had followed up with something about him being drunk off him and his lips. He groaned internally. That was such a cheap line. Cas had laughed. At the time he thought it was because he was so smooth. Now he’s wondering if it wasn’t because he sounded so fucking stupid.

He hadn’t meant to spend the night in his room. They must have fallen asleep at some point. He couldn’t even recall when.

Cas chuckled as he buried his face in Dean’s chest to block his eyes from the sun. “But—”

Suddenly the door to his room crashed open, making them jump up, seeing Gabe coming toward them and Sam just standing in the doorway.

“Well, well, well. Look at what we have here,” Gabe said, his arms wide as he made his grand entrance. “Now who could have predicted this?’

Cas blushed as he laid back down and buried his face back in Dean’s chest. He felt Dean slide his arm around his shoulders and pull him closer.

He hated his brother.

* * *

  
  


“So did you sleep with him?” Gabe whispered as Dean and Sam talked about their gifts, having opened everything. Everyone was thankful for everything and they would be eating soon.

Cas gaped at first before his face scrunched in embarrassment. “No!” he hissed back. “Of course I didn’t! I’m not that easy.”

Gabriel shrugged, sipping his coffee. “I would have been kinda proud of you, Cassie. Dean’s not as handsome as Sam, but he’s still good looking.”

The dark-haired man scoffed. “Dean is way hotter than Sam,” Cas said, starting to get louder.

“My Sammy is a sex god.”

“Ha! I guess it’s true what they say; love is blind,” he said, getting Dean and Sam’s attention.

“What are you two arguing about?” Sam asked as they walked over.

Gabriel smiled. “I said that you were hotter than Dean.”

“To which I disagreed,” he voiced nonchalantly, taking a sip of his coffee.

The two of them chuckled as Dean sat next to Cas and whispered something, the man smiling at the thought.

“Well I’m glad you think that,” Sam said as he pulled Gabe up to stand. Part of him was nervous. His hands were sweating just a bit and he had been chewing on his lip when he was talking to Dean. His brother had assured him that he had nothing to worry about. They loved each other and had been dating for three years. He would say yes. Boy did Sam hope so. “Because I love you, sweetheart. I remember, the very first day we met, you made me laugh without even trying. You are funny, sweet, caring, and I have never met anyone like you. And I am so happy I met you, because you have become my everything. I don’t want to imagine a reality where I didn’t meet you. I think it was meant to be.”

Gabe laughed fondly. “Where is all this coming from?”

Sam smiled. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for it.“I have been wanting to do this for a while,” he said as he reached into his back pocket, kneeled, and opened the small box.

Gabe gasped, his hands coming up to his mouth, his eyes wide. He knew that that meant, when people got down on one knee. Sam was—he was going to—

“Gabriel Novak. I love you so much. Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

Gabriel shook his head. “No. I’ll spend forever with you,” he said, tears coming to his eyes.

“So you’ll marry me?”

“God yes!” he shouted. Gabriel was so overwhelmed. He never expected this, never expected Sam to purpose. He had always assumed that the marriage thing wasn’t for him. He didn’t know why, he just always thought that. So now that this happened, he couldn’t be happier.

Sam laughed as he stood, slipping the diamond studded band on his finger. He breathed a sigh of relief. He honestly didn’t know if the man would say yes. He had never said anything about wanting to get married. He knew that Gabe loved him but that hadn’t meant he was up for marriage because some people just weren’t. He was so happy that he said yes.  

Gabriel brought him in for a crushing kiss. “I love you so much, Sammy.”

Dean smiled and looked over at Cas who was beaming at the scene.

Gabriel spun around and launched himself at his brother. “Cassie! You have to be my best man,” he said with vigor, staring at his ring.

Castiel chuckled. “Of course, Gabe. Let me see it,” he said as he grabbed his hand.

They looked down at it together, discussing how it must have cost Sam a pretty penny but he could afford it because he was a big time lawyer with his own firm. Castiel said that he would be happy to help plan the wedding, always having had an eye for colors and that kind of stuff. Gabriel had sighed in relief. He loved Sam but he didn’t want his wedding to be plaid themed. Castiel had laughed at that.

Dean looked over at his brother. “I’m so proud of you, Sammy. I’m glad you found someone like Gabe,” he stated as he pulled his brother

Sam smiled and shrugged. “Who knows; in a couple of years, you might be doing the same,” he said as he looked over his shoulder.

Dean followed his line of vision and saw Castiel fawning over Gabe’s ring, saying that he wouldn’t mind one of those one day. Gabriel followed by saying something that he couldn’t quite hear. Castiel’s head turned and looked at Dean. He blushed and turned away.

Castiel was… gorgeous. He was sweet, and they had so much in common, and he wouldn’t mind being with someone like Cas. He was the perfect guy in so many ways. But they had known each other for less than a week. It was really soon to be thinking about marriage. They weren’t even in a relationship. For all Dean knew, Cas could decide he didn’t want to be with him. It would hurt a little, especially after last night, but he would deal with it.

Dean turned back. He shrugged as well. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

* * *

  
  


Dean and Cas were once again curled up in bed, this time Dean’s. The four of them had decided to spend the day in bed. It was relaxing and all around perfect. It was reaching about three o’clock.

Castiel tightened his grip on the mechanic. He wouldn’t be as happy as he was now if they hadn’t stopped fighting. In all honesty, he would probably still be fighting with the man. It would have made this the worst Christmas ever. Instead it was shaping up to be the best.

“When we get back into town… do you want to stay in touch?” Dean asked, knowing that it would be pretty difficult not to. Their brothers were getting married.

Castiel rolled his eyes, a smile on his face. “No I thought you could be my boyfriend for just a couple of days and I would kick you to the curb.”

Dean’s eyes widened, “B-boyfriend?” he stuttered.

Cas looked up at him and noticed the surprise on his face. “Well… last night… I just assumed…” he trailed off, feeling like a total idiot. Of course Dean didn’t want anything long term. “I’m sorry. If you don’t—”

Dean cut him off. It was a gentle kiss, but Dean’s fingers were gripping his hip with a fierceness that told Cas he was trying not to take things too far too quickly. He was holding back from taking something he wanted, something he was so used to doing, it was difficult to restrain himself.

It was when Cas pressed them closer, deepening the kiss, that Dean couldn’t stop himself anymore.

He moaned, that sounded closer to a growl, as he slipped his hand inside Cas’ shirt, trailing his fingers up his spine.

Cas shivered at the sensation, his breath coming out in short puffs, mingling with Dean’s when they broke apart for a small moment to catch their breath. “I think boyfriend is a fine title.”

Cas pulled him closer, not able to get enough to get enough of this sensation, a smiled on his face.

Dean hiked Castiel’s shirt up so that he could run his hand along the smooth skin on his back.

Dean broke away suddenly as he felt himself growing in his pajama bottoms. “I think we should stop…” he said breathlessly.

Cas frowned and immediately Dean righted it.

“Cas… it’s not that I don’t want to. Trust me. I want to,” he voiced as his eyes roamed the man’s body, making him blush. “I just don’t want to push you into anything too fast.”

  
  


* * *

 

“Hey fiancé,” Gabe said as he rounded the corner.

The other man chuckled as Gabe put his arms around his fiancé’s around his neck from behind. He took off his glasses and set them on the desk. Gabe had been saying that sense this morning. It was clear to him, that he just loved the sound of it.

“I just love the sound of that,” he said dreamily, reiterating Sam’s thoughts.

He turned to look up at the man, Gabe leaning in for a quick kiss.

“Mm, I love hearing you say it,” he mumbled before pulling him around and placing him in his lap so that Gabe was straddling.

Gabe leaned down, planting a kiss on his lips before looking at him. “I have to ask; when did you buy that ring? We’re barely apart.”

Sam laughed, his eyes closing for a moment longer than necessary as he did. It was true. It wasn’t that they were one of those clingy couples that had to be together constantly. Gabriel would get clingy for about an hour after they’d be a part for long periods of time, but then he would go back to doing his own thing.

The past couple of months had just been hectic. Gabriel’s bakery was getting busier and busier, especially since they closed the Starbuck’s that had been across the street. And Sam’s firm was getting swamped as well. They hadn’t had time to hang out with their friends without them coming to them. They were too tired to go out and party or go to any kind of function. They would come home, kiss each other, possibly have some food, and then go to bed. They might have sex if they weren’t too tired, but even that had been rare lately.

“I got that,” he said as he tapped the ring. “the day you and Cas went out for his lunch.”

Gabriel looked up, thinking back to the day. Sam smiled as the realization hit him, his face scrunching in offense. He whacked Sam on the arm. “You mean the day you were sick and I came home and nursed you back to health?!”

Sam threw his head back, barking laughter coming out as Gabriel continued to swat at him.

“I made you soup, you jackass!” he half yelled.

Sam’s laughter died down, small chuckle’s still escaping. “Well was it at least worth it?”

The chef smiled as he stopped swatting him. “Yeah… it was worth it.”

“And now we have plenty of time to plan the wedding for next fall. I know it’s your favorite season. And, I want you to know; anything you want for this wedding… you have it. If you want a rainbow color pallet, you’re going to have it.”

The man’s eyes popped open. “You mean it?” he asked.

No one ever let him decorate. His style was bold with a lot of colors. The only person that seemed to be okay with it, was Sam. He endured their melon colored couch that contrasted with the gold walls in their apartment. And then the bright pink walls of their bedroom — that they guessed used to be a nursery for a baby girl, but Gabe fell in love with — and the blue of their bed set and window trimmings that made the entire room look like cotton candy.

Gabriel and his colors. He couldn’t get enough of them. But Sam loved it. It was different and he loved looking at from Gabe’s perspective. After they had gotten together, he started to see the world like Gabe did and he agreed with him; the world needed to use more colors.

Gabe threw his arms around Sam’s neck. “I love you so much,” he whispered.

* * *

 

“You practically growled at him!” Cas laughed as they sat around the table in the dining room, Dean still in the kitchen, making burgers for them.

“What did he say to him?” Gabriel asked.

“Well I was talking and I started to lie and I said something about being with him for a while. I was like ‘oh he’s caring and loving,’ you know, bullshitting him—”

“You dick! Just for that, you get no food.”

The three laughed at the scene. “I just meant in a general sense!”

“Yeah, mhm, sure. You just wanna make sure you eat.”

Cas shook his head, but went back to telling the story. “So I’m telling him this stuff and Dean cuts me off and goes,” Cas sat up straight, trying to look brooding and scary with a straight face, which was proving to be difficult with the other laughing at him. “‘and very protective.’”

The two sitting across from them clutched their stomachs and banged their hands on the table as they laughed hysterically.

They had switched the table around and added another section so that the couples could sit on the same side with each other.

“Assholes. All of you, Dean mumbled as he began bringing over the food, setting a plate down in front of all of them before sitting down next to Cas and tucking into his dinner.

Cas put a hand on his knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “It was cute.”

“See if I help you again,” he muttered but he didn't mean it, and they all knew that. 

They all picked up their burgers, Gabriel and Castiel moaning as they bit into theirs. Sam just chuckled. He knew they would have a reaction like that.

Cas looked over at him. “Dean… this is delicious. This is better than every burger Gabriel has ever made.”

“Hey!” Gabriel shouted before looking over at Dean and speaking, “He’s completely right though, unfortunately.”

Dean rolled his eyes, a tint of red on his cheeks.

“When we get back to town, you are going to have to make these for me again.”

Gabe and Sam looked up suddenly, burgers halfway to their mouths. They looked at each other quickly before sitting up straight and putting their attention on their brothers.

“You two are going to stay in touch after we get back?” Sam asked.

They nodded. “It’d be the shortest relationship I’ve ever had if we didn’t.”

Gabriel sputtered. “Relationship? You guys are dating?”

They rolled their eyes at their brothers. That should have been obvious by now, but they nodded anyway.

Sam and Gabriel dropped their burgers suddenly and clapped both their hands together in a double high five. “We told you so!” They yelled, their arms up like they’d just won a prize of some sort.

The other two rolled their eyes, looking at each other. They knew they would do that. Sam and Gabe had always been one’s to say ‘I told you so’ but when they met, it got worse to the point of showboating and tiny victory dances.

“You two are ridiculous,” Cas voiced, Dean nodding in agreement.

“So what about the fact that he screamed at you and you hit each other’s car?” Sam asked, earning a kick from Gabriel.

Dean looked over at him. “I apologized because I wasn’t paying attention,” he said with a smile, leaning just a bit closer.

“And I apologized because I was on my phone when I shouldn’t have been.” He leaned in as well, getting closer.

“And I promised that he can use my garage anytime should he need to do anything with his car.”

“And I promised to help him in the shop on my days off with the paint jobs.”

Dean smiled brighter as he leaned in completely and planted a kiss on his lips, one that Cas was more than happy to return.

“You two are so cute!” He said as he took out his phone and snapped a picture. He showed them when they pulled away from each other. “There. Now you have one of you under the mistletoe and one… where you aren’t.”

* * *

  
  


That night, Cas slept in Dean’s bed. They cuddled and talked; laughed and poked fun at each other. It was something like how they would imagine being in a relationship with someone who actually cared for you. They had never had much luck in the past, as they had told each other. But they didn’t try and prove themselves to each other, they were just themselves.

Dean told him about the time he was twelve and set the tool shed on fire. Sam had been eight at the time. They had been in the closet looking for something, not that Dean can remember what it was now, and they had come across some fireworks that were left over from July. Sam had been so excited, telling Dean he wanted to see the pretty fire works and all he wanted to do was make him happy.

“Well, no one ever told me that you had to stick it in the ground! My mom was too over protective and always made us watch through the glass door as my Dad set them off. So I told Sammy to wait in the house while I lit it off. So I just set it on the ground and the thing went berzerk. I thought it was going to land on the house before it landed on the tool shed. The first thing I did wasn’t try to put it out, or go inside. I just hung my head and thought to myself; ‘my parents are going to freakin’ kill me. They are going to ground me and then they are going to kill me.’”

Castiel laughed loudly. “What did they do when they got home?”

“They killed me. I’m a ghost. Boo!” he said and poked the man in the side, making him jump a little, still laughing. “No but I was grounded for like a good six months. And when I was finally free to do what I wanted, my Mom would guilt or threaten me with it. Like if I would give her a hard time about taking out the trash, she would say things like ‘you know… we really should have grounded you longer for burning down the tool shed… it’s not too late to tack on just a couple more months.’ Or my favorite was when I needed money or something they would say things like ‘Yeah? Well I needed a tool shed. Guess it sucks for both of us.’”

“Oh my god,” he said breathily, still laughing. “I’ve never met your Dad, but I’ve met your Mom. She’s so nice. She doesn’t seem like the person that would do that to you.”

“Ha! She was the worst about it.”

“Well, at least you didn’t tape over ‘precious home videos.’”

“You did not?”

Cas nodded. “I was like twelve or thirteen and something was coming on TV and it was my favorite program. I don’t remember what it was, but I wanted it. I had asked my parents where the tapes were so I could do it and they told me they were in the entertainment center. So I picked a tape, it was unmarked so I figured that it would be blank. Well the first time we watched the program, it was as a family. And when the program ended, it immediately cut to the very end of my potty training video.”

Dean threw his head back in laughter, not being able to contain it. “That’s hilarious.”

“My mom was livid. She screamed so loud to the point where she was almost crying. Part of me felt bad because she loved those videos and they weren’t exactly easy to get because no one in my family particularly favors the camera. Gabriel commended me, saying his was next. But really, I hadn’t done it on purpose.”

Cas chuckled as his eyes began to droop lazily, suddenly realizing how tired he really was.

“You tired?” Dean asked to which he received a lazy nod but to him was more like Castiel nuzzling his chest.

He chuckled fondly as he got up quickly, shutting off the light.

He gave him a kiss. “Merry Christmas, Cas,” he whispered as he brought him closer.

“M’rry Chris’mas, Dean,” he said groggily.

 

* * *

 

Gabriel flopped down on top of Sam, the man still inside him. Sam rolled them to the side, slipping himself out of fiancé.

“That was our first time having sex as an engaged couple,” Gabriel voiced which made Sam laugh lazily as he brought him closer, cleaning them both off with a shirt.

“Why yes it was.”

They smiled as they kissed pecks across each other. It was lazy and sated but it was wonderful and genuine.

Sam looked down at the man in his arms and smiled, and he smiled back. Gabriel was happy and that was all that really mattered to him. He didn’t care about anything else. This was probably the best Christmas he’s ever had.

“This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had, Sammy. Thank you.”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Every time I’m thinking something, you say it out loud as if you know what I was thinking.”

“Because we’re soul mates and we have this freaky telepathy thing going on,” he joked.

Sam chuckled and pecked the man on the forehead. “Merry Christmas, babe.”

Gabriel snuggled closer, getting ready to doze off. “Merry Christmas, Sammy.”


	8. Let's Buy a House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I want to formally apologize to everyone that waited for this and I never finished. My computer and this is the first time I've gotten the chance to finish. So here it is, the last chapter. I'm so sorry for the wait.

Thursday came and went. It was spent lazing around the cabin. Sam and Gabe had curled up on the couch and Dean and Cas on the loveseat. And that's where they stayed the entire day. They’d get up to use the bathroom or get something to eat. It was lazy and all around perfect.

But then Friday came; the day they were set to head back to the city. None of them wanted to go. They were loving the set of domesticity in the air. They wanted nothing to change and for it to stay the way it was. Dean and Cas had only known each other a week, but they felt like living with Sam and Gabe might not be so bad. And while they didn’t say it Sam and gabe were thinking the same thing. Not that they could act on it. Dean and Cas were very much afraid of scaring the other off.

They sat at the kitchen table, the only sound was the forks scraping on their plates. It was Castiel who finally spoke up.

“Would it be such a crime if we stayed until Sunday morning?” he asked.

He watched as the other three perked up, as if they hadn’t thought of that. Which they hadn’t.

But Gabriel deflated. “We can’t. We have that meeting with the realtor on Sunday morning.”

“Realtor? You guys are looking at a house?” Dean asked, not having been told, which was strange because the couple told him everything whether he wanted to hear it or not.

“It’s very recent. In fact, we hadn’t even been looking for a house. There’s just one not that far from where we lived that both of us would see on our way to work every morning and we’ve always loved it. It just went up one day so we called and made an appointment. It’s got like two and a half bathrooms, four bedrooms, a furnished basement, and from what I saw online, a beautiful kitchen. There’s a pool in the house… I don’t even know if we can afford it. Not without dipping into the savings fund mom and dad had for us. We just… we fell in love with it,” he said dreamily as he looked at Sam who smiled back at him.

“What if I move in?” Dean said suddenly.

“What?”

“Well, if you guys don’t mind a third wheel hangin’ around. My apartment isn’t near anything. You guys’ apartment is closer to the garage than mine and you said the house is only right down the street, right? Well my apartment is so cheap, I’ve been saving so much. I got enough to help. Besides, I get lonely out in the middle of nowhere. It’d be nice.”

“That would be really nice, Dean. But I still don’t think we’d have enough and we can’t ask you to pay for more than what’s fair.”

Then it was Cas’ turn to speak. “Well what if I move in as well?”

Their heads all whipped in his direction. “Really?” Sam asked.

He nodded. “You only live down the street from where I live, the drive to the university would be the same. I should make enough to help. My apartment is getting cramped anyway. I have no where to put my art anymore.”

They all looked at each other.

“The house costs two hundred grand,” Sam said. “I know everyone's income, if you account for food, clothes, gas, electric, cable, say a couple hundred for saving, and emergencies… We would own that house in three years… maybe less,” he said with a smile.

Gabriel gasped. “Oh my god, are you guys sure? Are we really doing this?”

They looked at each other quickly before nodding. “I mean why not? I don’t get to see either of you enough.”

“And I’m going to need to be near you all the time to help you plan your wedding. Because let’s face it, this one,” he said pointing at Dean, “would be just as much help as that one,” he mumbled before pointing at Sam.

“Hey!” the two shouted in offense.

“I would be awesome!” Dean tried.

Castiel smirked. “Alright, then. You can help Gabe plan the wedding. Though I feel I must warn you, you have to be there for him day or night, he might freak out–

“On second thought, you’re the best man, Cas. You do it,” he said with wide eyes, just thinking of the hell Cas was going to go through.

They chuckled. Cas’ hand moved to his chin and pulled the man forward to plant a kiss on his lips. Dean smiled and put his arm around him, bringing him impossibly close. He looked at the other two across the table who were now talking about calling the realtor so that all four of them could meet with her first thing Monday morning.

Dean mumbled something about losing a whole morning of work in their busiest season. Castiel smiled and promised that he would come to the shop with him after, since he was on winter break until January thirteenth. He promised that he would come in and keep him company or help him with anything that needed to be done.

“Something tells me that if you come by the shop, not a whole lot of work is going to get done. I’ll be too distracted.”

Castiel chuckled softly. “You’ll just have to try extra hard then, won’t you?”

* * *

 

Dean kissed his way down his new boyfriends torso, loving the feeling of his bare skin against his lips, and occasionally his tongue. As he reached Castiel’s member, he grabbed a hold of the base and guided it to his mouth.

Castiel fisted the sheets, his head lolling back from the pleasure that was rippling through his body. Moans escaped his mouth and his body thrashed. He wanted to calm down, wanted to move less, to make it easier for Dean, but he couldn’t stop himself.

His breath came out in fierce pants, his chest heaving.

Part of Castiel was more than a bit embarrassed to be this sensitive and responsive. It wasn’t as if he was a virgin, he knew what he liked. But Dean… Dean seemed to hit every spot that made him whimper and his toes curl. He had never had a lover that could do everything right.

“D-Dean!” he moaned.

The mechanic smiled around Cas’ throbbing member. They hadn’t planned this. They had agreed that they would wait for the right time, when their relationship had progressed more, past a week at least.

But they found their attraction to each other too much to ignore.

Dean gave a few more hard sucks before he let go of Cas with an audible pop, making the man whimper at the loss of contact.  

“You look so beautiful like this,” Dean smirked as he ran his fingers up Cas’ bare torso, something he had just figured out made the man arch into the touch, and he wasn’t disappointed. He hovered over the smaller man, their contact minimal and making Cas writhe for more.

“T-tease…” he let out, not knowing how he managed to form even one word at a time like this.

The mechanic chuckled as he touched his body lightly, making him moan again. “You sound delicious, did you know that?”

Cas threw his head back against the pillow before choking out, “N-need you.”

Dean stopped his touches and looked Castiel in his beautiful blue eyes. “Are you sure?”

Cas groaned when Dean stopped. He shook his head. “Don’t stop now. Please, Dean.” He brought him down for a kiss that was a clash of tongue and teeth but did nothing to diminish the passion behind it. “I want you so badly…”

Dean looked as if he was battling with his morals. A blow job was one thing. You could pass it off and not worry about it. But sex was another especially for two people in a brand new relationship. Cas was about to say more when Dean suddenly brought his fingers up to the man’s mouth.

“Suck,” he commanded.

Castiel sucked the fingers into his mouth greedily, wanting nothing more for them to be inside him already. He whimpered at the thought. He looked up into Dean’s eyes and saw the lust in them. He whimpered again and watched as Dean’s tongue darted out to wet his lips.

God it was sexy to know that he could make Dean come undone just by his sounds.

He released Dean’s fingers, deeming them wet enough.

Dean brought his hand down and teased a finger at his entrance. Cas moaned breathily and his hips jerked involuntarily, trying to push Dean in further.

Dean kissed him as Cas brought his hand down and fisted Deans cock with one hand and raked over the mans nipple with his other. Dean let out the most beautiful sound as he pushed a finger deep inside him, thrusting it in and out harshly.

Cas arched at just how damn good it felt, feeling pre-cum drip down his cock at how hot this all was. He didn’t want Dean’s hands to stop. He wanted to feel it all.

He stroked Dean faster, both of them moaning into the hungry kisses they were giving each other.

It wasn’t until Dean pushed in a second finger and stretched him open in a scissoring motion did Cas break the kiss and throw his head back. “ _Fuck_ – Oh, god, Dean!” he moaned and squeezed at Dean’s cock that was still in his hand.

It was his turn to whimper and pant. “Shit, Cas…you’re gonna make me come if you keep doing that.” He leaned down and bit down on his neck.

Cas mewled and bared his neck to him to give him more access. Dean kissed and nipped back up his neck and jawline. He kissed Cas deeply as he pushed in a third finger. Castiel felt Dean curl his fingers inside him, hitting his prostate.

“Haa!” he moaned. “Ngh… D-Dean… need you…”

“Condom?” Dean panted out, his voice cracking a bit at just how turned on he really was.

Cas brought him down for a bruising kiss, talking in between. “‘m clean. You?”

Dean nodded, kissing him back. “Clean.”

He slipped his fingers out of his new lover, earning him another whimper. He wet his palm with a tongue, using a mixture of saliva and pre-cum as lubricant.

Cas let him move one leg to his shoulder while the other wrapped around his waist. Dean kissed at his calf as he pushed into him slowly.

Castiel forced his leg off of Dean’s shoulder and around his waist. He locked his legs and pulled Dean into him the rest of the way, arching and moaning as he did so. Dean was huge and he felt so _full_ and sex had never felt like this before. Cas was sure that nothing had ever felt as good as it did with Dean in this very second.

Dean groaned deep in the back of his throat at not only how god damn hot that was, but because Cas was tight and hot around him and _fuck_ did he feel amazing.

There was no taking it slowly. Dean snapped his hips, rapidly hammering into him without mercy.

Castiel’s eyes screwed shut. Any bit of pain that he could have felt was gone now. He moaned loudly, thanking god the rooms were sound proof as he yanked Dean down and kissed him, swallowing his moans as Dean swallowed his.

Cas brought his hands up and wove them through Dean’s soft hair, clutching at him and keeping him as close as possible. He tugged a bit, pulling the most beautiful response from Dean.

“Oh, Cas,” Dean moaned.

“ _Harder_ , Dean! _Please_ …”

Dean panted and nodded, drilling into him harder and harder, making Cas wail and claw at his back. It wasn’t hard to guess that he was leaving marks.

He pulled Cas closer, changing the angle. Dean knew he was steadily pounding into his prostate by the way Cas’ cock leaked, a harsh red color painting the appendage, and the way his moans turned to whimpers and whines. His deep voice reached an entire new octave as he squeaked out Dean’s name.

The mechanic could feel his orgasm building inside of him. He reached down and stroked him quickly. He whispered against Cas’ lips. “Mm, come for me, Cas.”

Cas whimpered at the words, a shudder running through him. he could feel his heart beating loudly in his chest and his pants sped up. He was close, he was so close.

“T-talk to me, Dean,” he whispered, a blush rising to his cheeks.

Dean didn’t try to stop the groan that escaped him. “Y-you are so beautiful with your gorgeous b-blue eyes, and your sinfully deep voice,” he voiced in a deep tone, all the while speaking in between sloppy yet passionate kisses. He stroked Cas faster, trying to bring him to climax. “I-I want you to come for me, baby.”

And with that, Cas was gone. He had been teetering on the edge and Dean’s word had pushed him over. His body stiffened as he cried out Dean’s name, come painting his and Dean’s chest and stomach.

Dean moaned loudly at the feeling of Cas’ walls clenching and pulling at his cock. His hips stuttered, he threw his head back and came with a strangled cry, coming harder than he had in what had to be years.

He pulled out of Cas slowly and flopped to the side. Still panting, he grabbed his shirt and wiped them both down so that they didn’t stick together.

Cas looked over at the other man before snuggling into him. Dean grinned and hugged him closer.

Cas hummed contentedly. “You are impossibly good at that, Mr. Winchester.”

Dean chuckled and kissed him softly. “And you looked so damn beautiful, moaning for me like this,” he said as he kissed down his jaw to his neck.

The brunet moaned softly. “As much as I like that, Dean, I am not quite ready for a round two.”

Dean laughed but didn’t stop, simply slowed his movements. He kissed up to his ear. “Perhaps you’d be a bit more energetic if you topped this time,” he said with a smirk.

Cas looked up to him with a smile. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll rock your world,” he said, making both of them laugh.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a tiny little epilogue that was originally part of the last chapter but I turned it into an epilogue instead.

Dean’s shirt was discarded on the floor, Cas’ shirt soon following.

Cas moaned as Dean’s fingers came in contact with his skin. They had done this many times but Dean’s touch still felt like a wonderful blaze on him.

“Dean,” the man warned, a shiver running up his spine at the man’s touch. “You were just supposed to help me out of my shirt, not feel me up.”

Dean laughed but backed away a little to change into his swim trunks. He smiled at the thought. The hadn’t known that the house had an in ground pool. The house was a bit more than they thought they could originally handle. But with a little help from the Novak’s they were able to afford everything no problem. They were currently living comfortably.

“How fucking cool is it that we can go swimming in the middle of the winter.”

Castiel smiled as he slipped into his swim trunks. He walked over to the man and put his hands on his chest, patting it. “Babe, you say that almost every time we use the pool.”

“So?”

“We use it daily.”

They laughed in unison and left the room. Dean pulled Cas close, the latter enjoying the feeling as they headed downstairs to their inground pool. He smiled to himself. About a week ago, Dean said something about the pool not being that big. Sam had pushed him in the water and told him not to get a big head about this living rich stuff.

He looked over at Dean, smile never fading. He was… surprised that everything was going right with Dean. He was skeptical after moving in; something he hadn’t thought of at the time of agreeing. They hadn’t talked about whether they would share a room or not and really, it was a little early to even consider it.

But they had worked it out. They had moved into the same room and they’d been fine. They’re still fine.

They rounded the corner to see Sam with his elbows propped up on the side of the pool, the rest of his body was submerged in the water while Gabriel had his legs hooked around his waist simply talking to him.

“If this is the new normal, we’re going to have to get our own pools,” Dean said jokingly.

The others chuckled.

Cas stopped as he looked into the pool. He pointed. “Dean, what is that in the pool?”

Dean leaned down and looked to where he was pointing, not expecting Cas to push him in. They all roared with laughter, save for Dean.

His head popped up out of the water, a mock-serious frown on his face. He hopped up and grabbed on to Cas’ hand and yanked him in, making everyone laugh, save for Cas.

He swam over to Dean, coming up close enough to him that their chests were touching. Cas looked as if he was going to yell at him. But his frown broke as a smile spread across his face. He leaned up and kissed him.

“Don’t think you’re going to get away with that Mr. Winchester,” he said when they parted.

“Oh, shut up,” he said playfully as he slipped an arm around his waist.

Cas smirked. “Or what?”

Dean smiled back. “Or I’ll marry ya.”

Castiel chuckled at the reference. He looked down at the engagement ring on his left ring finger. Just a few months ago, during Sam and Gabe’s honeymoon, Dean had purposed to him and he hadn’t even thought about it, he had just said yes.

Gabe smiled at them. “You two pick a date yet?”

They looked over with matching smiles. “October,” Dean said.

“Halloween to be exact. We were thinking a theme,” he said as he looked at his fiancè. He wrapped his arms around his neck and smiled. “Dean insists I be an angel.”

“You’ve got the name, baby,” he voiced as he kissed him.

Gabe gasped dramatically. “Ooooh! A theme! That is wonderful. I can be an angel as well…”

The two of them chuckled as they watched Gabriel spout things off to Sam, the other Winchester nodding and smiling at him.

Dean leaned down and kissed him with a smile. “I love you.”

Cas smiled back at him. “I love you, too…but we aren’t letting Gabe plan our wedding.”

Dean scoffed. “Definitely not.”

“Hey! I let Cas help me plan my wedding,” Gabe said suddenly, them not having been aware that he could hear them from the other side of the pool.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Gabe, we love you. But your style tends to be a bit…over the top. We don’t want something ostentatious.”

“Ooo. Big word, baby,” Cas said teasingly.

Dean put his lips to Cas’ ear. “I’ve got something else that’s big but then, you already knew that, didn’t you?”

They both laughed at the joke before letting their laughter die down, both thinking about the other. It hadn’t taken long for them to fall in love with each other. They just seemed to work well together. As time went by they could safely say that the other was their best friend.

Dean loved the way Cas laughed and the way he held on to him any way he could. He loved the beautiful blue eyes that looked at him like he was the world to him. Like he was something special. And maybe, to Cas, he was, because Cas sure as hell was his world. He smiled fondly at him as he thought back to when they had met. It seemed so long ago. At the time, it seemed like they would never get over what had happened. But now, both agreed that they were happy it had happened. Sure, it had caused fights and arguments. But their story was amazing. And really, that’s all you can ask for, right? A story worth telling.

And Cas felt the same way. Dean was everything he could have asked for. He didn’t leave him because of a petty fight. No, he stuck with him no matter how many times they disagreed with each other. They still loved each other. They simply just fit. They made sense. And that was more than he could ask for.

They looked up, looking into each others eyes. Cas thought back on the time they spent together.

“You’re drooling, baby,” Dean teased.

Cas smiled. “Shut up.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll marry ya.”

Dean leaned down and planted another kiss on his lips. Yeah. Maybe Castiel Novak wasn’t so bad.

Cas returned the kiss, smiling into it. Yeah. Dean Winchester was alright.


End file.
